Ryu, The Dragon Slayer
by clayman96
Summary: Meet Ryu, a dragon slayer. Adopted and raised by Deathwing, a feared dragon of destruction, who left him. Before he was left alone, he found himself with two new tasks. Destroy the Tower of Heaven, and find the infamous guild known as Fairy Tail. (OCxErza)
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_**Chapter 1: Prologue**_

_**OC Information**_

_**Name: Ryu**_

_**Age: 13 **_

_**Magic: Dark Fire Dragon Slaying Magic, Re-quip (basic/sword only)**_

_**Likes: Peace, Good Weather, Being Active physically, Unusual taste for chocolate**_

_**Dislikes: Clowns, Sour Food**_

_**Bio: After the death of his parents when he was four years old, Ryu was adopted by a feared dragon named Deathwing, known to destroy half of Earthland in X755. After he was adopted, he learned an unusual dragon slayer magic, known as "Dark Fire Dragon Slaying Magic". Ryu was the only human not to fear Deathwing, and so, the dragon himself forged him a sword made of his tooth. Along with the sword, Ryu learned how to re-quip his sword without any problems.**_

_**Looks: Brown spiky hair, blue colored eyes, unusually above average size muscles, a scar on his left eye. Wears a plain, red shirt, along with blue pants, and gray shoes. On rainy or cold weather, wears a blue jacket.**_

_**Personality: Calm all the time, rarely gets angry. Always enjoys all the free time he can get. Always listens to his superiors. Tries to solve problems without violence.**_

_Year X776_

"I must go now. I teached you everything I could. You should consider yourself lucky. And remember what I told you, Ryu." roared a dark dragon, before he flapped his mighty wings and took off.

"You know, despite destroying half of Earthland years ago, you've been a good dad." replied a brown haired boy. As the dragon dissapeared in the sky, the boy was walking to a cliff.

"Five more minutes. I hope those freaks won't be late." said the boy, named Ryu, while looking at the sky. In just a few minutes, the boy heard some footsteps, each time louder and louder. Before he knew, he was surrounded by a few people, armed with spears and swords.

"Perfect! We found another one! You're coming with us to the tower. Try to resist, and we will kill you." said one of them, pointing his spear towards Ryu. The little boy was really calm, it was almost too weird. The boy put his hands up in the sky, showing that he won't retort.

Hours later...

"In you go. This is your new home." said a man, throwing Ryu into a cell. As Ryu got up, he noticed a few other kids. The first one he quickly noticed was a red-haired girl, with her left eye covered with a bandage. Ryu approached her, while the boy and the girl looked scared.

"Huh? What's the problem? You don't need to fear me. Look, my name is Ryu. Nice to meet you!" said the brown haired boy, with a smile on his face.

The little girl was shy, but she introduced herself.

"M-my name is Erza..."

"Okay, so I guess we're friends now?" asked Ryu.

"O-okay..." replied Erza

"Alright, enough of this. I need you to answer me a few questions." said Ryu, with a serious face. Jellal was listening.

"This is the Tower of Heaven, correct? When do the guard let us go to go to work?"

"Actually, in five minutes or so, they will be here." replied an old man, coming out of the shadows.

"Hello, mister. Thanks for the answer. Now, I need all of you to help me." said Ryu. Afterwards, he explained what is to be done.

"Alright, we good? They should be here in a few moments." said Ryu. He was right. The guard came soon afterwards, as they opened the cell, and all the slaves were put to work. Unusually, Erza was just standing around there, looking at the ground. Ryu was watching.

"You! Go back to work!" shouted a guard, just about to hit Erza. But before that could have happened, Ryu quickly grabbed the guard's hand, and punched back at the guard. In just a few seconds, a dozen of guards came, armed with spears and swords.

"A newcomer, huh? Take him downstairs. We'll teach him a lesson." said one of the guards, as two other guys grabbed Ryu's hands, and started taking him downstairs. Ryu looked back at Erza, and smiled at her. In just a minutes, Ryu was tied to a pillar, as his magical energy was drained. A single guard, alone was monitoring him. Surprisingly, the guard was wielding a small dagger.

"Perfect." mumbled Ryu to himself.

"What was that? Shut up!" said the guard, approaching Ryu, but just before he was about to hit Ryu, the boy escaped, head butted the guard, afterwards knocked him out with his fist. Soon afterwards, Ryu went back to the upper room, only to find Erza and some other kids there, along with the 'old man'.

"Pssst! Erza!" whispered Ryu, who was hiding.

"Huh?" Erza looked around, only to notice Ryu.

"Just be calm. We'll be out in a few minutes." asked Ryu. Erza then took a breath, and asked.

"R-Ryu... did you happen to see Jellal?"

"Whuh? Who? How does he look like?" asked Ryu.

"He has blue hair..." said Erza, shyly. Before Ryu could answer, guards were going towards Erza. Erza backed down a few steps. The guards asked:

"Where is that old man? He used magic. We know it! Tell me!" shouted the guard.

"I-I don't know..." replied Erza.

"I just hope this is enough to take down the whole building." whispered Ryu to himself. Then, his eyes turned red for a second, as huge explosions emerged at the same time. The Tower of Heaven was crumbling. Slaves were running all around, as guards tried to retort, they couldn't. A revolt started. Ryu then jumped out in the open, and went to Erza.

"Come on! We'll find your friend and get out of here!" said Ryu, as he ran downstairs. Erza followed. Looking through all the rooms, Erza finally found Jellal. But, Jellal has changed. In just a second, the little boy grabbed Erza's neck. A few seconds passed, as he looked back, he noticed Erza went missing.

"Damn it!" shouted Ryu, as he ran back, only to notice Erza pinned down by Jellal.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Ryu. Noticing him, Jellal grabbed a rock from the ground, throwing it towards Ryu. But Ryu dodged. Afterwards, he grabbed Jellal's head, and smashed it agaist the pillar. Before saying anything, Ryu grabbed Erza on his back, and ran off. Looking back, Erza let out a few tears, as she experienced Jellal's sudden change. The building started crumbling even more, and after a few minutes, Ryu got out with Erza on his back. He ran for a seconds, so he could be at a safe distance with her. He put her down in a nearby forest. Then, it all happened. The Tower Of Heaven was falling. The nightmare was ended by a thirteen-year old boy. And so, a day passed...

Erza woke up. The little girl looked around, only to notice she was inside a tent. As she walked out, she noticed a camp-fire. But the fire had an unusual color. It was really dark. Ryu just got back, with a bag in his hand.

"Huh. So you woke up? Are you alright?" asked Ryu. Erza couldn't help it. She ran at Ryu, hugging the guy so hard he couldn't catch air.

"N-not so h-hard...pl-please..." said Ryu, barely. Erza let go afterwards.

"Are you hungry? I have some stuff here to eat..." said Ryu, but Erza didn't respond.

"Eh, come on. I won't bite." continued Ryu, smiling.

"T-thanks." said Erza, shyly. Ryu caught a big breath, and then he explained what happened in there.

"They... are all gone. I'm sorry." said Ryu with a sad voice, as Erza couldn't help but cry. Ryu didn't say anything. He knew it would be better if she let her cry. After a few minutes, Erza stopped, as she cleaner her face of her tears.

"So, you're done? Good. Because I have some food here, and I don't think I can eat it all alone..." explained Ryu, only to be jumped by Erza for the food. The girl quickly took the bag, and started eating everything contained in it. After finishing, Erza burped, and threw the bag away. Ryu crawled up to the bag, with his eyes wide open, and looked inside, only to notice it's empty. Erza looked satisfied, as she actually smiled. Ryu wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't. He sat down in front of the camp-fire.

"D-did you make this fire?" asked Erza.

"Yeah. I guess it's a little weird, right? Well, my dad taught me."

"Your dad? Was he a mage?"

"Not really. He was a dragon."

"A-a-a dragon?"

"Yep. He is kind of mean, but nice at the same time. He even gave me a sword. Look!" said Ryu, as he streched out his, and a sword appeared. Erza was shocked.

"_She seems to like it..._" thought Ryu. He then said to Erza.

"Would you like to learn this? I don't know much about it, but if we start now, in a few years you could do a better job than me."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yep! It will be hard at first, but as I said, in a few years, you could learn this kind of magic and use all of it's abilities!"

"Okay then. I guess." replied Erza. Ryu then stood on his feet, and said:

"I have to go now. I have to search for a guild called Fairy Tail or something. You want to come? I really don't want to leave you here." Erza just smiled, and nodded her head up and down. It was a yes. And then, Ryu's sword dissapeared in the nothing. The brown headed boy and the scarlet haired girl then went out of the forest.

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Chapter 2: Fairy Tail

_**Chapter 2: Fairy Tail**_

"Come on, i've been carying you for the past three hours! Can't you walk a little?" asked Ryu, who was carrying Erza on his back. But he couldn't get any response, as the girl was sleeping on his back.

"_We've been walking for the past three days. I don't know how much we have left, but it was my destination. I didn't know what to expect there._" thought Ryu to himself. What he didn't know, is that he ended up in the town of Magnolia. The boy stopped, and looked around, only to notice the town is full of nice, happy people. Ryu rushed up to an old lady, and asked:

"Excuse me, where can I find Fairy Tail?" the old lady was scared, and started hitting Ryu's head with her bag.

"Oww! No need to hit me, old lady, I just asked a question!" shouted Ryu, getting the attention of everyone.

"Wow! Miss! No need to harm the little boy!" shouted an adult, stopping the lady. The old lady then walked away.

"Thank you sir. Can you please tell me where to find Fairy Tail?" asked Ryu from the man.

"Sure thing, boy. It's right there." responded the man, pointing at a building.

"Thanks." said Ryu, afterwards heading for the building. In just a minute, he got to the front, standing in front of the door. The young dragon slayer took a deep breath, and kicked the door. Then, he walked in, and noticed a lot of people. But what stood out was the old man sitting at the counter, having a drink. Ryu didn't even think a second time. He went up to the old man. As Makarov raised an eyebrow, he noticed that both Ryu and Erza's clothes were torn up.

"Hey, old man! What is this place?" asked Ryu. Makarov nearly choked, as everyone else's eyes opened wide.

"W-w-what do you mean by that?" asked Makarov.

"I thought we were speaking the same language. My dad sent me here, but I don't even know what place this is." explained Ryu.

"I'll tell you later. For now, let's fix you two up." responded Makarov. And so, a few hours passed. Ryu got his clothes washed and fixed. Erza was still sleeping. She had gotten a new outfit too.

"So, I guess it's time to explain me what this place is." said Ryu, standing in front of Makarov.

"Alright, alright." replied Makarov. And so, a few minutes have passed, and Makarov explained everything about guilds, and about Fairy Tail.

"Wait. So can I and Erza join?" asked Ryu.

"Yup. Of course, only if you want." replied Makarov.

"Well, I don't know if she wants to join, but i'll certainly join! Now that my father left me, there's not much for me to do."

"Oh really? And where did your father go?"

"I have no idea. He just flew away."

"He did what?"

"He flew away. He has wings, you know."

"What is he exactly? I don't recall humans having any wings..."

"Human? No, he's a dragon."

"A WHAT?" Makarov was surprised. The young boy in front of him was a Dragon Slayer. The old man continued.

"And what was his name?"

"His name? It was Deathwing." replied Ryu with a grin on his face. Makarov was shocked to hear it. The legendary dragon of destruction had a pupil. And that pupil was standing in front of him. For a second, Makarov felt that the kid should be anywhere close to a guild like that, but looking at him again, Makarov noticed the happiness inside the kid. Then, he jumped to a conclusion.

"I see. Alright, so you want to join, right? But only under one condition. If anyone asks about your father's name, don't tell them anything. You may not understand now, but you will in time."

"I don't get it, but alright. I'm okay with that." responded Ryu. Makarov then asked.

"So, where do you want your tatoo?"

"My what?" Ryu didn't know what a 'tatoo' was.

"Ummm, your... symbol! Yes, that's it. Every member of the guild has a symbol. You need one to, if you want to join. You also need to tell me the color." replied Makarov.

"Alright then... how about right here? And as far as colors go... how about dark red?" said Ryu, as he took down his shirt, and pointed right where his heart was.

"That's weird... but whatever. Here you go." said Makarov. Ryu closed his eyes, thinking it would hurt. But in fact, he didn't feel anything. Before he knew, he was an official member of Fairy Tail.

"Wow! Awesome!" said Ryu, as he looked at his 'tatto', showing that he is an official member of Fairy Tail. Suddenly, a little boy, with dark hair, and half-naked, ran in front of Ryu.

"Hey! My name's Gray! Nice to meet you!" said Gray.

"Hi. My name's Ryu. Nice to meet you too." and the two boys shook hands.

"Hey, come on, let's introduce you to the others." said Gray. But before that, Makarov had one last thing to talk about.

"Ryu, wait a minute."

"Huh? What's the problem?" asked Ryu.

"About that girl... what's her name? And what happened with her? She looks like she was hurt." Ryu then looked down on the ground with a sad face, and explained everything. Gray was just waiting there impatiently, but didn't hear nothing.

"I see. It's a shame that she had to go through something like that. Anyhow, I know a person who can get her eye back. I would go with her alone, but i'm sure she would not trust a stranger, so you're coming with me and her." said Makarov.

"Oh, alright." and Ryu ran off with Gray. The young dragon slayer introduced himself to everyone, except one person. That person was standing next to a pillar. He had yellow hair, and he had a pair of headsets on. Ryu noticed him, and went to him. Laxus noticed him, and took down his headsets.

"What do you want, boy?" said Laxus, with a somewhat intimidating voice.

"Well, I thought I could introduce myself, but seeing as you don't like company, I may as well leave." said Ryu, afterwards turning around and leaving.

"Wait! I mean, my name's Laxus. Nice to meet you, kid. What's your name?" asked Laxus. Ryu stopped and looked back. He then said.

"My name's Ryu. Nice to meet you too!" somehow, Ryu had a certain fondness for Laxus. Just after that, Erza woke up, as Makarov called for Ryu.

"Ryu! Where are you?" hearing Makarov, Ryu ran for him, and noticed Erza was on her feet.

"Hey, Erza. Are you okay?" asked Ryu. Erza let out a yawn, as she cleared her eye of the tears. She then said.

"I'm okay, I guess. But what is this old man doing here?" Ryu laughed, and responded.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt us." Makarov then interrupted the two.

"We have to go now."

"But, where are we going?" asked Erza. Makarov responded.

"We're going to get your eye back." Erza was a little shocked at what the old man said.

"My... eye?"

"Yeah, your eye. I dunno where this old man's going to take us, through." responded Ryu. As the three individuals went towards the nearby forest, Ryu explained Erza everything about Fairy Tail. Suddenly, Makarov, who was in front, stopped in front of a tree. The old man then hit the door, and an old, pink haired woman came outside. Ryu and Erza were a little scared, as the woman started hitting Makarov with a broom.

"Wait Porlyusca, it's me! Makarov!"

"Oh, I didn't notice. What do you want here?" and Makarov explained everything. The three went in, as Porlyusca started cooking something. Until then, Erza was talking with Ryu.

"Ryu... thank you for everything." said Erza, as she had a sad expression on her face.

"Nah, there's nothing to thank me for. And be happy once in a while!" said Ryu with a smile. Seeing him, Erza had a smile on her face too.

"Alright, it's done." said the old woman. Upon hearing this, Ryu and Erza were looking at her. It was an artificial eye. As the eye was 'implanted', Erza could see with both eyes again. She started crying out of joy.

"T-thank you." said Erza. Porlyusca just smiled, but the old woman noticed that tears were only coming out of one eye.

"You don't have to thank me. I tried my best, but it didn't come out as I expected. It doesn't matter now, I guess. Now get out of here." Upon hearing this, the three left. Ryu was really happy for Erza.

_And so..._

Two months passed. Ryu and Erza befriended everyone in the guild. Also, sometimes Ryu would train Erza, in re-quiping magic, but they had a hard time. Not only that, but Mirajane and Erza would develop a rivalry. The two were so scary when they started fighting that no one would dare to stop them, except for Ryu.

"Oh come on, not again. Stop it, you two." said Ryu, as he separated both Erza and Mirajane. Even through the girls didn't show it, they were somewhat scared of what the young dragon slayer would do if they didn't listen to him. Ryu then left, looking for a job. The young slayer always preferred something simple, even if violence was needed to deal with the trouble. Soon enough, he found something right up his alley. Destroy a newly-formed illegal guild. It was not long before he reached for the paper, but at the same time, Laxus reached for it too. Before they knew, they actually touched the paper at the same time.

"Hey! That was my mission!" shouted Ryu, as Laxus took away the paper.

"Don't make me laugh. Someone like you? Please! By the time you complete this mission I could do it ten times." replied Laxus.

"Oh yeah? Then how about you take another one?" said Ryu. Makarov then went up to both, and said.

"How about you BOTH do that mission together?" upon hearing this, Ryu and Laxus' eyes opened wide.

"TOGETHER?" both shouted at the same time towards Makarov.

"Yes. You heard me. Together! It could be fun!" shouted Makarov. Afterwards Ryu and Laxus looked at each other, and then looked away. Laxus then spoke up.

"Tcch. Fine, i'll go with him." hearing this, Ryu was surprised at Laxus' decision. Soon, they both left. But before they would leave to destroy the guild, Laxus stopped at a store. Ryu followed.

"Hey kid. What do you want me to buy you?" asked Laxus, reaching for some money.

"I never told you to buy me anyth-"

"Just tell me already. Before I change my mind."

"Okay! Fine. How about some of that chocolate?" said Ryu, as he pointed his finger. Laxus then bought him one. As he handed it over to Ryu, the young dragon slayer sniffed the chocolate, liking it's taste. Laxus was heading towards the guild, as he heard Ryu chewing on the chocolate like he didn't eat for days.

"What the- you already ate it?" Laxus was surprised.

"Yeah. It was really good. Thanks." replied Ryu.

"Whatever. Come on, let's go." And so, the two 'friends' started their trip.

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3: Natsu, The Dragon Slayer

_**Chapter 3: Natsu, The Dragon Slayer **_

"Shouldn't we take a train or something?" Ryu spoke up to Laxus.

"What's the point? We're gonna be there in just a few... seconds." responded Laxus, only to notice that he arrived at his destination.

"Well, here we are! I guess three hours of walking does not hurt anyone." said Ryu.

"Look who's talking. You wanted to take the train." responded Laxus.

"Point taken." replied Ryu.

And the two mages arrived. They went up to the front door. Before entering, the two mages looked at each other.

"Can I knock?" asked Ryu with a grin on his face.

"Oh yeah. Might as well announce them we were coming hours before we got here." Laxus said, sarcastically. Before he could notice, Ryu kicked the door so hard it went flying inside. There were about two hundred guys in there, all drinking and talking, while some were playing around with knives and other blunt weapons. All of them were instantly spooked. A random man spoke up.

"What are these two kids doing here?"

"They are looking for trouble."

"Hey, isn't that guy Laxus of Fairy Tail?"

"Hey, you're right! We should be careful."

"Nonsense! I'll cut him up like butter!" shouted a member of the illegal guild, charging towards Laxus with a knife. Laxus was on his guard, but before he could retort, Ryu already punched the man in the belly, knocking him out. Laxus was surprised at Ryu's speed. Before he could say anything, Ryu rushed of to fight the other members. The young slayer engulfed his hands in fire, as he was ready to take on all the members.

"Come on! Let's get the little prick!" shouted a man, charging him along with about five men. Ryu was ready. He rushed all of them, and as soon as he punched one man, he got burned and knocked out. He did the same with the others.

"Hey! Look out! That kid is really dangerous!"

"Such a wuss. I'll take care of him!" shouted another man, with a big sword in his hand. Ryu took a deep breath, and a magical seal appeared in front of him.

"_**Chaos Dragon's... ROAR!**_" shouted Ryu, as a large dark fire engulfed the whole building. Ryu then looked at surprise, as all two hundred members of the guild were knocked out. Ryu looked in surprise, with his eyes wide open.

"That... was all? I expected more of a challenge..." then, Laxus let out a big laugh.

"HAHAHA! You know what? That was really fun! Even through I did nothing! Man, that wasn't bad!" said Laxus, patting Ryu on the head.

"Well, thanks! I guess... so that was it?"

"Yep. Now we just gotta reap the reward." responded Laxus as he walked outside. Ryu followed. As the two left, the whole guild exploded, engulfed in a large and dark fire.

_And so..._

Another three hours passed, and Ryu and Laxus got back to the guild. Ryu went in first, as Mirajane greeted him.

"Hey, Ryu! So how was the mission?" said Mirajane as she jumped right in front of the young Dragon Slayer.

"Hey, Mira. It was fun." responded Ryu. Erza quickly overheard this, as she jumped on Mirajane.

"Hey! Who allowed you to talk to Ryu?" shouted Erza, while on top of Mira. The white haired girl then threw Erza off her, and the two engaged in combat. Seeing this, Laxus let out another laugh, afterwards going over to his usual place, a plilar. Ryu, soon after, separated the two girls from the fight, as he let out a yawn.

"Man! I'm sleepy!" said Ryu to himself, as he went out the backdoor. As he went out, he couldn't help but notice the beautiful ocean. He then took a look to the left, noticing a few trees. Ryu went to one of the trees, and used the shadow to cover himself from the sunlight. Soon enough, the young boy closed his eyes, as he took a nap.

_And so (again) …_

Two hours have passed, and the sun was still shining. Ryu woke up, and went right back to the guild. Much to his surprise, Erza and Mirajane weren't fighting. As Ryu went in, he took out a bar of chocolate from his pocket, and started chewing on it. At the same time, he also went over to the request board, as he had the urge to take another mission.

"Let's see what we got here..." said Ryu to himself, while scanning through the board. Both Erza and Mirajane noticed, as the two girls ran up to Ryu, addressing the young dragon slayer.

"Want to go on a job?" shouted both girls, and as they heard each other, they started another fight. Ryu couldn't help but notice, and he stopped the two girls again. He then said.

"How about this? I will take both of you with me on a mission. That good?" proposed Ryu.

"With her? Whatever! I'd rather stay." added Mirajane, waving off while leaving.

"Huh... that was weird. So, Erza. Want to go?" said Ryu with a grin on his face. Erza blushed a little, and replied shyly.

"S-sure, but only if that's okay wit-"

"Of course it is. After all, since we got here, we didn't go on a mission together. So, i'll let you choose. Whichever one you want!" said Ryu, as he interrupted Erza. Erza then took over Ryu's place, and started looking. She noticed one, which involved finding a thief. Best of all? The job was put up by a citizen of Magnolia.

"How about this one?" asked Erza, as she showed Ryu the piece of paper.

"Sure thing! Let's go, Erza!" shouted Ryu, as the two took off. In just a matter of minutes, the two arrived at the destination. The two arrived, noticing a small cottage. Ryu knocked at the door, as a person's footsteps were heard. Ryu and Erza were waiting for a few seconds, only to notice an old lady opening up the door. Ryu looked at her face, recognizing the old lady.

"Eeekkk! It's you, that old lady! Erza, come on, let's go, before she hits me again!" shouted Ryu, as he was just about to run of. Then, the lady spoke up.

"Little boy! Wait! Who are you?" asked the Lady, much to Ryu's surprise. Ryu then turned around and went back to the old lady.

"Errrmmm... my name is Ryu! And we're from Fairy Tail!" responded the little boy.

"I see. So you've accepted my mission?"

"That's right." replied Erza.

"So, miss. What did this thief steal from you?" asked Ryu.

"Ohh, dear. I don't really remember..." said the lady. Ryu and Erza's jaws dropped.

"B-b-but..." said Ryu, as he didn't know what to say. Erza then cleared her throat, and asked.

"What does he look like?"

"Well, all I know is that he went for the nearby forest, and that he's around your size. I even remember hitting the little stealer a few times on the head!" shouted the old lady.

"So you remember all that, but you don't remember what he stole from you? Weird. Anyway, we got it. Come on Erza, let's go!" shouted Ryu.

"Okay." Erza replied. As the two took off, the lady thought to herself.

"_My my... what a beautiful pair those two make._"

And so, in a few minutes, the two arrived at the forest. Much to their surprise, it was the same forest where Porlyusca lived in. Ryu shaked a little, knowing she's a dangerous woman. Erza noticed, and asked.

"Ryu? Is there something wrong?"

"I hope I don't stumble across the old lady. She would kill me with her broom!" replied Ryu. Erza couldn't help but laugh. Soon enough, they entered the forest. They were surrounded by a lot of trees, and bushes. Soon enough, a bush started moving. Ryu didn't hesitate. He jumped the bush, as Erza watched. Soon enough, Ryu revealed himself, while holding on to a... scarf! Even Ryu was surprised, as a little boy with pink, spiky hair revealed himself.

"Hey! Let go of me!" the pink haired boy then punched Ryu in the face, but Ryu was unfazed. The little boy still struggled, with Ryu took him out of the forest. Erza followed. As they got out, Ryu dropped the little boy, and asked.

"Hey! Was it you who stole from the old lady?"

"And what if it was me?" replied the boy, then showing his tongue to Ryu.

"Oh yeah? And what if I were to take your scarf?" said Ryu, trying to knock some sense in the boy.

"I won't allow that! Igneel gave me that?" shouted the boy, as he finally got free from Ryu, facing him and Erza.

"Igneel... why is that name so familiar... I KNOW!" shouted out Ryu.

"You... know... Igneel? Where is he?" the boy rushed Ryu for answers, but Ryu bonked the boy in the head, and afterwards said.

"He left you. Didn't he? Just like my dad did. Oh well. Nevermind. What's your name?" asked Ryu.

"I asked you a question! Answer me!" shouted the pink haired boy, as he tried to attack Ryu again. But Ryu quckly got hold of the boy, threw him on the ground, and sat down on him.

"Calm down, dragon slayer. I don't know where he is. And it would be best not to search for him. I don't expect you to understand, but neither do I. So, tell me now. What's your name?" asked Ryu again.

"My name is Natsu. Now get off me!" shouted the boy named Natsu.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" said Ryu, as he got back on his feet. He then asked Erza.

"Erza. So what are we going to do now?"

"Maybe we should get him to apologize." replied the little girl.

"Tcch. Like I will do that." replied Natsu, looking away, while sitting on the ground. But soon after, Erza got hold of Natsu's ear, and started dragging him.

"You will apologize. You heard that?" said Erza, with a dark aura around her.

"O-o-okay..." said Natsu, as he was still dragged by the ear.

"Weird, but suits me." said Ryu, as he followed. In a few minutes, they arrived at the cottage, and Ryu knocked at the door again. The old woman opened the door, only to notice Natsu.

"It's him! Beat him up!" shouted the old lady, reaching out for any weapon.

"Wow! Calm down please! Nat- the little boy, he's here to apologize." replied Ryu. He continued.

"Come on, Natsu. Apologize."

"Alright. I'm sorry." said Natsu, with a sad face.

"I see... oh well, I can't help it, can I?" said the woman, with a smile on her face.

"We should go now. We failed the mission. I'm sorry, miss. Oh and you. Natsu. You're coming with us." said Erza, in a scary and determined voice. As the three boys left, the old woman stopped them.

"You forgot the reward. Fifty thousand jewels, wasn't it?"

"But, we failed. We failed to get the stolen item, whatever it was, back. Oh yeah, Natsu. What did you steal?" said Ryu.

"It was food. I was hungry, and I didn't have anything to eat." replied Natsu.

"It doesn't matter. Here, take the money. Now, go, kids." replied the old lady, as she handed out the money to Ryu.

"Okay, miss. Thank you. Shall we go now, Erza?" asked Ryu, as he started numbering the money, handing over half to Erza.

"Sure. Natsu! Don't fall behind!" shouted Erza. Natsu soon followed. In a few minutes, they got back to the guild, along with Natsu. Every member had their eyes pinned on Natsu.

_And so ( yes, again)..._

A month passed. Natsu joined Fairy Tail. He befriended everyone, and along with that, he had a rival. Gray Fullbuster. Just like with Erza and Mirajane, someone had to stop them. It was none other than Erza. The two boys were so scared of her, they would never ever dare to fight her. Ryu was at the back, looking at the ocean. As he was chewing on a bar of chocolate, someone approached him.

"Ryu. I want to talk with you." it was Natsu, with a serious face. Ryu turned around, and said.

"I know what you want to talk about, Natsu. My father too, he was a dragon. But I don't know why he left. All he told me is that I should not try to find him, as he has some problems to deal with." explained Ryu. Afterwards, Natsu clenched his fists, and had a grin on his face.

"I don't care. I will still find Igneel!" shouted Natsu, happily. Ryu just smiled at the young dragon slayer's determination.

"Whatever floats your boat, Natsu." replied Ryu. Then, he took another bite of the chocolate. He thought Natsu would leave him alone. But that didn't happen. Instead, Natsu pointed his finger at Ryu, and shouted so loud, the whole guild heard it.

"Ryu, fight me!" Ryu nearly choked on the chocolate. As he banged his chest, he swallowed the chocolate, and said.

"Do you really want to? Why don't you fight with Gray?"

"Pfft. The stripper? I can beat him with my hands tied. And there's Erza..." as Natsu pronounced her name, he started sweating hard.

"Okay, I guess. Then, come on! I'll give you the first hit!" shouted Ryu, as he threw the rest of the chocolate away. The whole guild ran outside, only to notice the two already started fighting. Natsu swinged punches at Ryu, but Ryu dodged them without problem. As Natsu tried to punch Ryu again, Ryu grabbed his hand, and threw Natsu on the ground so hard that smoke emerged from the strike. As the smoke cleared, Ryu was whistling, while sitting on Natsu, who was knocked out. The whole guild then laughed at unison.

_To Be Continued..._


	4. Chapter 4: The Start Of A Nightmare

_**Chapter 4: The Start Of A Nightmare**_

_**May 15, X784, Magnolia**_

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the townsfolk was minding it's business. And then, there's Fairy Tail. It was a normal day there too. And by normal, it meant people fighting.

"Where is Ryu? I want to fight him!" shouted Natsu.

"He's surely on his way back. Calm down Natsu." replied Erza, who was sitting alone at a table, eating her favorite, Strawberry Cake.

"Erza! Fight me!" shouted Natsu towards Erza. Erza nodded a 'no', but it was too late. Natsu already charged her, punch a punch from Erza was more than enough to defeat Natsu. Erza then put her hand on her chin, as she wondered.

"_Where are you, Ryu?_" she thought to herself, looking at her cake.

_Meanwhile..._

_**The Capital Of Fiore, Crocus**_

"So, where do I have to go exactly?" asked Ryu.

"It's that mountain peak. Those wyverns stole everything they could from the citizens. They even harmed some of them." responded a man, as he pointed towars a fairly large mountain.

"Alright. A few minutes and they'll be dealt with." responded Ryu, as he started walking towards the mountain. And in a few minutes, he reached the mountain peak. He looked around, only to notice wyvern scales all around.

"Where are they? Don't tell me they attacked the capital again. Okay, how about this?" Ryu let out a loud whistle, and in a few moments, wyverns were all around him.

"Wow, there's quite a lot of them. Well, here goes nothing!" Ryu raised his hand in the air, and soon enough, barrages of fire started flying towards the wyverns. Soon enough, the wyverns started falling one by one, until all of them were unconscious. Then, a huge roar was heard, surprising Ryu. Soon enough, a huge wyvern emerged, getting the attention of Ryu.

"Wow, now that's a big one!" added Ryu, after examining the huge wyvern with his eyes. Afterwards, the wyvern charged Ryu, trying to bite him, but Ryu dodged, and jumped on his back, getting a hold of the wyvern's neck. The wyvern flapped it's wings, and soon enough, Ryu was in the air. Ryu then engulfed himself in a large flame, as the flame started burning the wyvern.

"Come on, I know you don't want to continue!" the wyvern just let out roars of pain, as the monster was too, engulfed in flames. Soon enough, the wyvern couldn't continue. As he fell on the ground, with bruises all around the body, Ryu felt a little bad.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but that's what you get when you do bad things." said Ryu, as he put one knee patted the large wyvern's head. Then, he took a wyvern scale as proof of the job done, and returned to the man who gave him the mission.

"Here you go, mister. It's done." said Ryu, as he arrived.

"Already? That was really fast. Were there any complications?" asked the man.

"Nope! Not at all! Well, I guess that's it!"

"Oh, right! The reward! One million, right? Here you go." said the man, as he handed Ryu the money.

"Yep, that's it. Well, take care mister!" said Ryu, and soon afterwards, he left. Ryu then took off, heading back towards the guild. In four hours, he arrived in Magnolia.

"Whew! Finally, I'm back!" said Ryu, as he stopped, and took a look at the town. He immediately went towards the guild, and entered, only to be greeted by Makarov.

"Yo, Ryu! How did it go?" asked Makarov, sitting at the counter with a keg in his hand.

"It was alright. Not worth the time through." added Ryu, with a bored face. As Ryu looked around, he noticed Erza, sitting alone at a table. He sat down in front of her, and greeted her.

"Why is it that you are always sitting here, alone?" asked Ryu from Erza.

"And why do you even care?" Erza asked back.

"Is it a problem if I do? I mean, you're friends with everyone here. I don't think they would mind. I don't." added Ryu.

"Of course you don't since you were the one who sat down here next to me. In fact, who allowed you to sit here?" added Erza, with a calm expression.

"Oh, whatever. Can I sit down here, Ms. Scarlet?" asked Ryu with a smile on his face.

"Alright. But only for now." replied back Erza. She smiled back. Erza then asked.

"How did the mission go?" Upon hearing this, Ryu sighed, and had a bored face again.

"Boring. No challenge at all. Even through there was this big wyvern. In fact, it was unusually large! I was quite surprised." said Ryu. Erza just listened. Ryu continued.

"But other than that, it wasn't really worth it." added Ryu, as he finished.

"That's not true." replied Erza, getting the attention of Ryu. She continued.

"It's always worth it, as long as you help people." said Erza.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, it was nice to help and all, but overall, it was way too boring, and exhausting." added Ryu, and let out a sigh.

"You'll find a way to solve that." said Erza, afterwards continuing to eat her cake. Then, a lightbulb appeared above Ryu's head.

"I know!" shouted Ryu, as he continued.

"How about we go together for the next one?" asked Ryu from Erza, anxiously awaiting an answer. Erza was surprised. But she didn't need a second to think.

"S-sure! It could be fun." Erza responded.

"Alright then, it's settled! When do you want to go?" asked Ryu, with a smile on his face.

"Tomorrow morning. Let's go choose a mission." replied Erza.

"Alright." and the two went to the second floor, to find a mission that's suitable for them. As they went to the second floor, they noticed Laxus there, sleeping like a little baby. As Erza went over to the request board, Ryu followed. Erza looked all around, while Ryu was just waiting. After a few seconds, Erza found one.

"How about this?" asked Erza, as she handed over the paper to Ryu.

"Let's see... okay. This one is alright. And we can get to Clover by train too. Good, because I got bored of walking around." added Ryu, as he read the paper. He then continued.

"So, meet you at the train station?"

"Alright." Erza responded.

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow." said Ryu, as he walked downstairs.

"Wait! Where are you going?" asked Erza, as she was surprised.

"I'm going to take a walk around town, then go home for a sleep. Why?" responded Ryu.

"N-nothing. I was just asking." added Erza.

"Oh, alright. Well then, bye!" said Ryu, as went left the guild. Erza nodded her head, and went downstairs. This time, she sat down at the counter. She then put her hand at her cheek, and had a somewhat sad expression on her face. Mirajane noticed this, and went over to her.

"Erza, what's the problem?" asked Mirajane.

"Nothing." Erza answered.

"Did Ryu say something bad to you?"

"No! Not at all! It's just that..."

"Come on, tell me!" Mirajane anxiously awaited Erza to finish. Erza let out a heavy sigh, and continued.

"It's that, when Ryu's around me, I feel so uncomfortable, and at the same time, I feel so safe. When I joined this guild, he always helped me. But, at the same time, I always have emotions when I'm around him." confessed Erza. Mirajane listened, and had one thing to say.

"You have feelings for him." after hearing this, Erza's eyes opened wide, and out of reflex, she answered.

"No, I don't."

"You cannot fool me, Erza." Mirajane answered with a smile on her face. Erza let out another sigh, and said.

"Alright. Maybe I do. But I'm afraid he doesn't have the same feelings towards me."

"That's not true." and again, Mirajane's words surprised Erza. Mirajane continued.

"I know he does, Erza. Even when you were kids, he would always be around you. And wasn't he the one who teached you magic?"

"Yes, partially. And, I like him. But sometimes I just want him to feel as uncomfortable around me as much as I do!" after hearing this, Mirajane put her finger on her chin, and an idea came to her mind.

"I think I can help you with that." upon hearing this, Erza was waiting for Mirajane to continue.

"I'm listening." Mirajane then whispered something to Erza. Erza just nodded, and said.

"Alright, we can try it. But we're going to need Natsu for that." much to her luck, Natsu just barged in the door, along with Happy. The pink-haired mage shouted.

"We're back!" and soon, another fight emerged. Mirajane then spoke up.

"So, should we start?" Erza smiled, and nodded.

_Meanwhile..._

Ryu just got home. The moon already took over the sun, and Ryu let out a yawn. He threw himself on the bed, and in just a few seconds, he was already sleeping. Soon, the time would flow like a river. And soon after, it was morning. The sun was shining, as Ryu quickly woke up. He let out a yawn, packed a few chocolate bars in his pocket, and went to the train station. In just a few minutes, he got there, but he couldn't see Erza.

"_I guess I got here before her._" thought Ryu to himself. So, he had to wait. After thirty minutes, Erza arrived to, with a mountain of luggage at the back. She saw Ryu, as the brown-haired was playing around with a little girl, waiting for her mom. Erza smiled, and she went over to Ryu.

"Good morning Ryu." Ryu then turned around, only to see Erza, and the luggage at her back.

"Good morning to you too, Erza. So, shall we go?"

"Sure." and the two boarded the train. Ryu and Erza sat next to each other. Ryu then spoke up.

"Hey, Erza, can you tell me what the mission was again? I forgot." Erza reached for the paper again, as she read it, she soon answered.

"Nothing to difficult. We just have to escort a VIP."

"Remind me again why this is an S-class mission?"

"The VIP is known to be a target for assassins. Not only that, he's quite an important and wealthy person."

"Oh, I see. At least I won't be bored to death." replied Ryu with a smirk.

"Oh really? And why is that?" asked Erza curiously.

"Because you're here with me! Watching glue dry together with you wouldn't be boring!" replied Ryu. Erza blushed a little, and she looked away. Ryu then looked outside, as he noticed the beautiful lush forests and the wastelands. He then said.

"What a nice place. Reminds me of the time I had with my parents." Ryu caught Erza's attention.

"Your parents? What happened with them?" Erza turned back to Ryu.

"They died in a fire. In fact, the whole town was burned to nothing. I was there alone, crying, and scared. Suddenly, a huge dragon appeared in front of me. In fact, that was the dragon that burned the town. Suddenly, I stopped crying. He then grabbed my shirt with his teeth, and flew away. Soon enough, he was my family." Erza heard the sadness in Ryu's voice, but before she could say anything, Ryu turned to her, and continued.

"That was until I found you, and joined Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail's my family now." said Ryu, with a grin on his face. Erza smiled back. They continued speaking about different things. And in a few hours, they arrived at Clover's train station. The VIP was already there. Erza recognized her, and she pointed at her.

"Ryu, there he is. Let's go." said Erza, as she went towards the man. Ryu followed behind. The VIP was looking around. He was quite nervous.

"Excuse me sir, but are you the VIP?" asked Erza.

"Yeah. Come on, let's hurry up. Man, it's warm, ain't it?" said the VIP.

"Sir, where do you want us to escort you?" asked Ryu.

"Uhh, just to the other side of town." responded the VIP, as he was sweating heavily.

"Alright sir, don't worry. Everything will be fine." responded Ryu. And the three started their trip. The VIP was always paranoid, looking all around him, as he was taking his steps fast. Ryu and Erza were really calm, as they knew the trip won't be a long one. In just a few minutes, they arrived at the destination. It was the VIP's house.

"Well, here we are, sir!" said Ryu. The VIP then responded.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Here, take the reward. Now go!" said the VIP as he handed over the jewels to Ryu and Erza, soon running towards the house, and went inside. Ryu and Erza sweat dropped.

"O...kay? I guess we can go home now." said Ryu. Erza nodded in agreement. And in another few hours, they got back to the guild. Much to their surprise, it was already starting to get dark. As they got off the train, Ryu streched his arms, and yawned a little.

"Man, I can't wait to get home and have a good sleep! By the way, thanks for coming with me, Erza. I appreciate it. To be honest, I really had fun, even if the mission was somewhat boring. Well, see you tomorrow!" Ryu then started going home, but Erza remembered what Mirajane whispered her just yesterday.

"W-wait! Ryu!" shouted Erza. Ryu turned back.

"Huh?"

"C-can I walk you home?" asked Erza, a little shyly. Ryu grinned, and responded.

"Aren't boys supposed to do that? But I don't mind. Sure!" responded Ryu. Then, the two started walking to Ryu's home together.

"By the way, Ryu, I'm sorry about what happened to your family..." said Erza with a sad voice.

"Don't be. I should be sorry for what hell you were put through in that tower... and your friend Jellal." said Ryu. Erza then looked at the ground, with a sad face. Ryu noticed it, and he felt bad for bringing that up. But before he could say anything, Erza responded.

"Don't worry about that. I miss Jellal... but I could never thank you enough for what you did there. By the way, how did they find you?" asked Erza, out of curiosity, as a sad face turned into a more confused one. She continued.

"I mean, you already knew how to fight, even through you were a little kid. I'm sure those guards didn't prove to be any problem."

"Oh, that? It was actually my dad... well, my dragon dad. Before he left me, he told me to destroy the tower of heaven, and then find Fairy Tail." Erza's jaws dropped. She then responded.

"H-he tasked you to destroy that tower? As a little kid? What kind of dragon was he?" Erza asked.

"Well, not exactly the kind, caring one. But he was the one who taught me how to fight. The scar on my face, it was he who made it. I remember that day. I was hungry, and I cried, all the time. It was right after he killed my parents. He became angry, and he made this scar on this face. That was the last time I cried. I also remember him teaching me how to overcome transportation sicksness." explained Ryu.

"Oh really? And how did he do that?" asked Erza.

"He gave me two million jewels, and told me to stay on a train as much as I can, until I can overcome the sickness." responded Ryu. He then shaked a little, and continued.

"Man, I wish I could forget that day. It was a nightmare!" as Ryu finished the sentence, they arrived at Ryu's house, which was more like a rubble. Ryu's jaws dropped on the ground, as his eyes widened.

"W-what happened here?" Erza looked at the rubble, pretending to be surprised, but in fact, she knew what was going on. In an instant, Natsu popped up from the rubble, along with Happy.

"N-Natsu? What did you do?" asked Ryu with a loud and angry voice, after he noticed Natsu.

"There was a monster in the house, so I defeated it!" replied Natsu, with his signature grin on his face.

"Oh yeah? And where's the monster now?" asked Ryu.

"I dunno. The mission said the monster is in this house, so I blew the house up." replied Natsu.

"That was my house, you stupid!" shouted Ryu, as he bonked Natsu in the head.

"Oh man, where am I going to sleep now?" as Erza heard Ryu, she remembered again what Mirajane told her.

"Ryu. How about you sleep at Fairy Hills?" proposed Erza.

"Wait, where? Isn't that your place?" replied Ryu.

"Yes. Is there any problem with it?"

"N-n-no! Not at all! I guess I can stay a while, until I buy myself another house." said Ryu. Then, he asked.

"How much does a room cost for a month?"

"There are no more available rooms, so you're going to sleep in mine." replied Erza. Ryu's face became more red than Natsu's fire.

"W-w-w-wait! I-I-In your room?"

"Yes. Is there any problem with that?" asked Erza, as a dark aura appeared behind her, and her face was more frightening than ever.

"No sir!" replied Ryu, with a face as red as Erza's hair.

"Good. Then let's go." Erza grabbed Ryu's hand, and started dragging him. Ryu looked back at Natsu, as he clenched his fists and shaked it, while Natsu looked in confusion at the two. In about five minutes, Ryu and Erza arrived. Ryu sighed, and said.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't want to be a burden..."

"Don't worry. Everything will be all right." replied Erza. The two entered the room. Mirajane was already there, as Ryu was spooked by her.

"Oh, Ryu. What are you doing here?"

"M-Mirajane? Do you live here too?" Ryu was still blushing red as fire. He wasn't really comfortable with the whole idea. What he didn't know, was that he fell right into Mirajane's trap... or as Ryu thought, a **nightmare**.

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Chapter 5: A Little Fun Won't Hurt

_**Chapter 5: A Little Fun Won't Hurt**_

"Erza, are you still sure this is a good idea? I don't want to be a burden, you know..." Ryu thought it was not a good idea to sleep in the same room with Erza.

"Don't worry, it will be alright. There's really nothing to worry about." replied the scarlet-haired girl. Ryu let out a sigh, and nodded in agreement. Mirajane then spoke up.

"Ryu, why are you exactly here?" she said, as she giggled. But in fact, she knew what was going on. After all, it was her plan.

"Natsu. Apparently, he accepted a mission that involved burning my house to nothing." replied Ryu, still a little angry. Mirajane pretended to be surprised.

"Oh my. Really? But who would do that?"

"I have no idea. But since I already have enough money, I'll go out and search for another house tomorrow. Until then, I have no choice but to sleep here." explained Ryu.

"What do you mean 'no choice'?" asked Mirajane.

"I dragged him here. I am not going to let him sleep outside in the wild." replied Erza, with a smile on her face, looking at Mirajane. The two girls winked at each other, and then Mira spoke up.

"Oh, I see. Well then, I'll leave you two alone. Have a good night!" and she left.

"Yeah, good night to you too." replied Ryu, as he waved Mira off, and then he continued.

"Whatever. I'm going to take a bath, and then take a sleep. I hope you don't mind." said Ryu, while inside of him, he still couldn't believe he agreed to this.

"Of course I don't mind. The bathroom is there." said Erza, as she pointed to a door.

"Yeah, thanks." was all that Ryu said. He went towards the bathroom, and Erza was left alone for the moment. Suddenly, Mirajane entered Erza's room.

"Is it going according to plan?" Erza just nodded. Suddenly, Mirajane's cute expression turned into something different, like a grinning devil thinking about something evil. She went over to Erza, and whispered something. As Erza heard more and more, she began blushing blood red. As Mirajane finished, Erza wanted to shout, but Mirajane put her hand at Erza's mouth, stopping her.

"Shhh! Don't let him hear!" said Mirajane. She took her hand afterwards, and Erza spoke up.

"Don't you think we're taking this a little way too far?" she asked as her face was still red. Mirajane replied.

"Didn't you want to make him feel bad, uncomfortable? This is your best chance."

"Still, I don't think this is-" Erza was interrupted by Mirajane.

"Don't worry, you already took baths together with Natsu and Gray, didn't you?"

"But this is different! We were kids back then! And Ryu isn't like them at all!"

"Well, this is your only chance. It's up to you." said Mirajane. She then left. Erza let out sigh, and soon enough, she would head to the bathroom too. Meanwhile, Ryu was already in the bathtub, enjoying the hot water. But, even through it was nice, he let out a yawn.

"Man, I'm beat! I guess I should get out..." said Ryu to himself. But as soon as he wanted to get out of the tub, Erza entered the bathroom, all naked. Ryu's jaws dropped, with his eyes widened, and the blush on his face was as red as a rose.

"E-ERZA! What are you doing here?" Erza blushed too, but she cleared her throat, and responded.

"Since you're sleeping in my room, I am going to make sure you're as clean as possible!" she responded, with a confident voice.

"You don't have to worry about anything like that! Now please, get out and wait for your turn!" shouted Ryu. But the only response he got was an elbow in the stomach.

"This is MY room, so I make the rules!" shouted Erza back, even scaring Ryu a little. Then, she lowered her voice.

"Here, sit down. Let me wash your back." Ryu still was confused as hell. But in the end, he let out a sigh and nodded.

"O-okay." was all Ryu could say, in a shy voice. Erza giggled, and said.

"You don't have to be shy, you know."

"I wasn't shy!" shouted back Ryu. Erza didn't say anything. Mirajane's so-called 'plan' worked out. Ryu felt everything Erza did all the time when she was close to him. As Erza washed Ryu's back, Ryu blushed even more, to the point where his head would let out steam in a comical way. In a few seconds, Erza stopped. Ryu thought this was it. Much to his dismay, he was wrong.

"So that's it? Good, because I can lea-" but Ryu was interrupted.

"Not so fast. Now you wash my back." replied Erza back. After hearing this, Ryu felt like he couldn't hold it anymore.

"A-a-are you really sure?" Ryu could barely even talk. Erza looked back at Ryu and nodded a yes. As Ryu touched Erza's back, his nose started bleeding in a comical way. But, in the long run, it felt good, for him and her. But even then, Ryu felt so ashamed, he could barely even speak.

_A few minutes later..._

"So, did you like it?" said Erza.

"Whatever. Just let me sleep now, okay?" replied Ryu. Erza smiled, as she tucked herself in her bed. Ryu slept on the floor. In a few minutes, Ryu was already snoring. And slowly, the day passed, as the sun was already shining. The sun shone directly on Erza's eyes, and as she woke up, she noticed Ryu was already gone. From that moment, she knew that Mirajane's plan worked. She smiled, as she woke up from her bed.

_Meanwhile..._

"So how much do you want for this one?" Ryu was just talking to a man, who was selling his house at the outskirts of Magnolia. The client replied.

"Ten million je-"

"Done deal!" Ryu didn't even wait for the client to finish. He handed over the money. The client walked away, with a satisfied smirk on his face. Ryu looked at the client go, and soon after, he didn't even check the interior of the house. He just started going towards the place he always liked to be at, the guild. As he entered, he felt the guild's usual atmosphere. The fights, the murmurs, the faces, everything. He was back home. He went towards the counter, and before he could ask for anything from Mirajane, Ryu was quickly interrupted by Makarov.

"Yo, Ryu! Good morning!"

"Hey gramps. How you doing?"

"Just fine! How did you sleep?" said Makarov. Those four words reminded Ryu of the night with Erza. He let out a heavy sigh, as he cleared his eyes one more time.

"It was... okay, I guess." replied Ryu. Makarov didn't say a thing. Mira overheard the conversation, and while she giggled on the outside, in the inside she knew her mischievous plan worked.

And so, time passed slowly.

_**July 4, X784 **_

Ryu was at the guild, enjoying a drink at the counter. Meanwhile, Natsu returned to the guild after searching for Igneel, but much to his dismay, he couldn't find his dad. But instead, he bought along Lucy, a young girl who joined the guild. Mirajane introduced Lucy to everyone, leaving Ryu for last.

"Ryu, I'd like you to meet Lucy. She's the newest member of the guild." said Mirajane, with Lucy next to her. Ryu turned around, stood up from his chair, and spoke up.

"Hey Lucy, my name's Ryu. Nice to meet you!" Ryu introduced to the girl, and Lucy was relieved that she finally met a sane person in the guild, other than Mirajane. Just afterwards, Loki ran to the guild, in a hurry. He stopped for a few seconds, to catch his breath, and soon afterwards, he spoke up.

"Erza... she's in town!" upon these words, the guild became more turbulent than ever.

"Erza? Who is she?" asked Lucy. Ryu spoke up.

"Erza Scarlet. Otherwise known as the Titania. She's the strongest of all female members of the guild."

"But if everyone is so scared of her, why aren't you?" but before Ryu could answer, Erza already walked in. And in just a matter of seconds, she gave out orders to most, if not all members of the guild, and made discipline among them. Erza went over to Mirajane, as she questioned Mira about Makarov, who was absent. As Erza found out about Makarov, she asked help from Natsu and Gray, as the two of them stopped fighting as soon as Erza entered the guild. Ryu overheard the conversation, about a spell called 'lullaby' and a dark guild named Eisenwald. Then, Ryu spoke up.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore Erza. I took care of them during my latest mission."

"You did what?" asked Erza.

"Yeah, I took care of them. There was this flute which I broke in the process, I suppose that was that lullaby spell. It was in the hands of a guy called Kageyama." replied Ryu. Erza let out a sigh, and she responded.

"I have to thank you for that. At least I can take a break now."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just enjoy the day. Meanwhile, I do need Natsu's help." said Ryu, as he then went over to Natsu.

"Hey, Natsu. Wanna have some fun?" Natsu always liked these kind of words.

"Yeah, sure!" responded the pink-haired dragon slayer.

"Okay, then how about this? There's this place which need to be... cleared. Maybe Erza, Gray and Lucy can come with us!" Erza overheard the conversation, as she became curious about what Ryu was talking about. She grabbed Ryu's shirt, and dragged him towards her.

"What are you talking about?" asked Erza.

"Look. Gramps asked me to deal with something. Apparently, there is a dark guild located close to Clover. Now, the guild masters have reasons to believe that they will plan to assassinate the guild masters, since the council meeting is happening. I was already sent there once, but the whole building was empty, so I wasn't allowed to destroy it." explained Ryu.

"I see. And how does master wants you to deal with this situation?" asked Erza.

"Simple. I catch them when they are in the building, and then I am allowed to destroy the whole place. And since it only involves destroying things, I thought calling Natsu would be a good idea." said Ryu. Erza just nodded. Ryu then went over to Natsu.

"Natsu, we're leaving tomorrow, alright?"

"Why don't we go now?"

"Because I want to rest. We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Aye sir!" responded Natsu. Ryu then took off. He went to Lake Sciliora, as he always enjoyed that place. He found a large, wide place full of grass. He instantly fell on his back, as he enjoyed the fine weather. As he looked up in the sky, he closed his eyes, and the second he opened them, he saw Erza in front of him.

"Oh, hey Erza. Didn't see you there."

"What are you doing out here?" asked Erza, as she sat down next to Ryu, who raised his body, and sat down next to her.

"I'm just enjoying this place. It's really beautiful. By the way, how did the mission go? That's quite a souvenir you came home with."

"It went okay. No complications."

"Glad to hear it. By the way, I thought you said you were going to rest alone for the rest of the day." added Ryu.

"Why, is it a problem if I'm here? I can leave." said Erza. After another second without answer, she jumped on her feet, but just before she was about to leave, Ryu grabbed her hand. Erza was surprised by Ryu's action. After another second of silence, Ryu broke it.

"I... don't want you to leave. Please, stay." Erza smiled at Ryu, making Ryu smile too. Then, the two fell back on the grass. At the same moment, they noticed they were still holding hands. They quickly took their hands back, and the two blushed a little.

"I-I'm sorry about that." said Ryu.

"I-It's okay." responded Erza. She continued.

"By the way, where did you know about Eisenwald?"

"I stopped at a bar for a drink on the way to the guild. I heard some people talking about lullaby there. And I just had that urge to stop them. Who knows what they could have done."

And so, again, time slowly went flying... and it was starting to get dark.

"Wow, we actually spent all the day here? I didn't even notice..." said Ryu, as he jumped on his feet, and looked around. Erza stepped on her feet too.

"Maybe we should head home." proposed Erza.

"Yeah. I have a long day ahead of me. How about I walk you home?" added Ryu.

"Hmm. All right, I accept." replied Erza. In a few minutes, Erza and Ryu arrived at Fairy Hills. Ryu still had the chills when he approached the place. He remembered all the events that happened when Natsu destroyed his house and he had to sleep in Erza's room. But as time passed, he got over that.

"Well, Erza, goodbye." said Ryu. Erza turned to Ryu.

"You say that as if we're not going to see each other anytime soon." said Erza.

"Well, there's that mission at Clover, but at least there's the train, so we can get there quite fast. But there's Natsu with his sickness... oh man!" said Ryu, as he ruffled his hands through his hair.

"Don't worry. How about I go with you?" added Erza.

"You know what? That would actually be good." said Ryu, with a smile towards Erza. Ryu then said.

"Then, see you tomorrow morning?"

"Exactly." replied Erza. Ryu then left for home. And in just ten minutes, Ryu got home, as he threw himself in the bed. The day passed again, and it was tomorrow morning.

_**Magnolia Train Station**_

"Hey, ice stripper! Ryu only invited me, not you!" shouted Natsu.

"Shut up, charcoal brain. Ryu also said that if I want, I can come too." replied Gray. Lucy was there along with them, feeling quite embarrassed, because the fight of Natsu and Gray caught most people's attention.

"Come on, guys, just stop already." said Lucy, but it didn't help. She then let out a sigh, and started thinking why she was actually there. Erza appeared soon afterwards, with a mountain of luggage behind her. Lucy was surprised at the amount of luggage Erza was carrying, but she didn't say anything. As soon as Natsu and Gray noticed Erza, they stopped fighting immediately, much to Lucy's surprise. Ryu was the only one missing, but soon enough he would appear too.

"Argh! Come on Ryu, where are you?" shouted Natsu, expressing his outrage. Soon afterwards, someone bonked his head. It was Ryu, who just arrived.

"Good morning to you too, guys." said Ryu. He continued.

"Can we board the train now?" the others nodded, and in a few minutes, they started their trip to Clover.__

"By the way. Erza, Gray, Lucy. Thanks for coming with me. Dealing with Natsu while on a train is quite a burden." said Ryu, as he looked towards Natsu, who was dealing with his sickness.

"Don't worry about it. And I have to be there in case he makes a mistake during the mission." replied Erza. And after a few seconds of silence, Ryu broke it.

"By the way, Lucy, what kind of mage are you?" asked Ryu, awaiting an answer from Lucy.

"Oh! I am a stellar spirit mage. Here!" replied Lucy, as she shower her keys to Ryu.

"Wow! I heard about stellar spirits, but I never saw one! Maybe today I'll get to see one!" replied Lucy. Afterwards, she immediately asked back.

"By the way, what kind of magic do you guys use?" asked Lucy.

"Well, I'm sure you know what kind of magic Natsu uses. Erza uses re-quip magic. She can summon a variety of weapons and armor than enhance their abilities in a different way. If you still don't get it, it's pretty much like your stellar spirits, only Erza uses weapons and armors. Gray here? He uses Ice Make magic. He can create whatever he wants using ice." explained Ryu. To demonstrate, Gray used his magic to create Fairy Tail's symbol, all fully made of ice.

"Wow, that is so beautiful!" answered Lucy. Then, she asked Ryu.

"What about you?" asked the young blonde. Ryu stayed silent for a second. Then, he answered.

"Me? I'm a dragon slayer, like Natsu. But I use a different kind of fire. It's called dark, or chaos fire." Lucy was quite reluctant to hear more.

"Can you tell me more about this chaos fire?" asked Lucy.

"Let's just say this fire is more... intense." said Ryu, in quite a low voice.

"Oh, I see." replied Lucy.

"How much until we get there?" Gray spoke up.

"Patience is a virtue, Gray. A few more hours and we'll be there." replied Ryu. Time slowly passed, and finally, the team arrived at Clover.

"What's our destination?" asked Gray.

"A few miles, next to the mountains." pointed out Ryu.

"Well, then, let's go." added Erza.

"Umm... aren't we forgetting about someone?" asked Lucy, while pointing towards Natsu, who was on the ground, still sick.

"Of course we aren't." said Ryu, who proceeded walking over to Natsu, and threw him on his back.

"Alright, boys and girls, let's go!" shouted Ryu. The others soon followed.

_Thirity minutes later..._

"There it is." said Ryu, pointing to an insanely big building. Gray and Lucy's jaws dropped on the ground. Meanwhile, Erza was examining the area. Natsu then suddenly woke up, and jumped off Ryu's back.

"Alright, let's go! I'm all fired up!" shouted Natsu, as he started running towards the big building, only to be stopped by Ryu, who grabbed Natsu by his scarf.

"Slow down Natsu. A minute, and you can go. But before that..." Ryu stopped, and jumped onto a huge tree. In a matter of seconds, he climbed the tree, and had a clear view. He noticed all the activity outside the guild, which was a clear sign on attacking. He jumped down from the tree, as Erza was still examining the place, Natsu and Gray started fighting again. Natsu went up to Ryu, and spoke up.

"Hey, Ryu! Why did you invite ice queen here?"

"Give it a rest, pinky." replied Gray.

"Could you two shut up for a second?" shouted Ryu, stopping the two for a second. Ryu went over to Erza, and asked her.

"Any ideas?"

"Not much. There are two entrances. First one is the main entrance. That area is bound to be heavy. The second one is a little more secure, and stealthy." replied Erza.

"I know which one I'm choosing! Let's go Happy, I'm all fired up!" shouted Natsu, as he started running towards the main entrance. Erza spoke up afterwards.

"I have to agree with him. I'll go the same way." soon after Erza followed Natsu. Gray proceeded making a bazooka out of ice.

"I'll be up on that hill. I'll cover you from here. I don't want to be around fire-boy here when he screws this whole thing up." added Gray, as he hold the bazooka over his shoulders.

"Well, Lucy, do you want to help me?" asked Ryu.

"I think... I'll just stand back." replied the blonde.

"Suits me. Enjoy the view! Gray, I'm going by the back!" shouted Ryu, as he started running towards the large building. In just a matter of seconds, swords cutting through air, and huge explosions were heard. It was all the work of Natsu, Erza and Ryu. Gray also got a few noticeable shots at the building, as the building started to crumble. In another few minutes, the whole guild was cleared out. Natsu, Happy and Erza returned to Lucy, whose jaws were on the ground, with her eyes wide opened. Gray fired another blast, which resulted in the building crumble. He then returned to Lucy, as his bazooka dissapeared.

"Guys, Ryu's missing." pointed out Lucy. Gray got spooked, as the building surely fell on Ryu. But after a few seconds, Ryu came up from the huge rubble created by the building.

"DAMN YOU GRAY!" shouted Ryu from a distance. Natsu, Erza, Lucy and Happy laughed, while Gray was still shaking just by thinking what would Ryu do to him.

_Three hours later..._

"Alright, we're back!" shouted Natsu, as he barged in the guild door. As Ryu and the others settled down, Makarov spoke to Ryu.

"Thanks for dealing with that problem, Ryu." spoke Makarov.

"Don't worry gramps, other than the building falling on me, everything else was fun." replied Ryu. Soon after, Natsu went over to Erza.

"Erza, I want to fight you!" Ryu and Lucy were sitting next to each other at the counter, almost choking on their food. The whole guild heard that. Erza was silent for a few seconds, but she had a positive answer.

"Alright, Natsu. It's been a while. I accept your challenge. We will fight tomorrow." And the day passed. It was tomorrow morning, as the members of the guild gathered around in Magnolia. Natsu and Erza were standing in front of each other, as they were ready to fight. Ryu was standing outside the crowd, as he was tall enough to see the fight. And in a matter of few seconds, the fight started. Natsu and Erza seemed to be even, but the fight was interrupted soon after.

"This stops now." spoke up a frog. He then continued.

"Ryu, you are under arrest." Ryu was spooked, along with the other members of the guild, as the attention shifted from the fight to Ryu. Ryu looked confused, but in the end, he didn't retaliate. Afterwards, the frog and Ryu took off. Suddenly, and surprisingly, Natsu and Erza's mood took a 180O turn.

_An hour later..._

"You know, this is a nice place! I've never been here." said Ryu, as he was inside the magic council's headquarters. As he looked around, he noticed a familiar face.

"Siegrain..." murmured Ryu.

"Welcome, Ryu. I'm surprised to see you here." said Siegrain.

"I'm surprised to see myself here too." replied Ryu.

"Anyway, don't worry. All of this is only a setup." said Siegrain. Ryu was surprised by those words.

"A setup?" asked Ryu.

"Of course. The magic council knows of your actions at Clover. You did stop a dark guild of potentially assassinating the guild masters, but you cause quite a ruckus, as that house was the property of a civilian." explained Siegrain, as Ryu's jaws dropped. Siegrain continued.

"You see, an action like this asks for consequences. But since you saved the lives of the guild masters, the council agreed to set this up. For this day, you'll be locked in a cell. After that, you're free to go." as Siegrain stopped, Ryu took on a serious face.

"I see.. I guess I should thank you, Siegrain." replied Ryu.

"Don't worry about that. Nevermind, I have to go. I'm waiting for you inside." after those words, the projection of Siegrain disappeared. Ryu let out a sigh, and he was ready to stand in front of the council.

_Meanwhile..._

The whole guild was silent. Their mood was down, as they did not know what to except. Will Ryu ever come back to the guild?

"This is all your fault, you pervert!" Natsu and Gray were fighting again. But this time, Erza wasn't there to stop them. She was at Sciliora Lake, all alone, sitting at the patch of grass, remembering the time she had with Ryu there. She was tucked up, her legs in front of her face, as her hands were surrounding her legs. Somehow, a second later, she ended up on the ground, with grass all around her, as her view was set on the sky. She wanted time to pass. And soon enough, it would...

_**July 5, X784**_

It was already twelve o'clock, and no sign of Ryu. Everyone's mood was still the same. Natsu was mad.

"Arrgh! I don't care, I'm bringing Ryu back!" shouted Natsu.

"No, Natsu! You're staying right here!" shouted back Makarov. Just as Natsu was about to rush out, the door opened, hitting Natsu's head, and knocking him out. It was none other than Ryu, who hogged all the attention from the guild members. In that second, Fairy Tail's morale was back. A few minutes passed, as Ryu explained everything. After finishing, Ryu went over to Makarov.

"Gramps, where's Erza? Did she go on a mission or something?"

"As a matter of fact, no. She told me she's going to the Sciliora Lake for a moment." replied Makarov.

"Oh, really?" responded Ryu back. Makarov let out a laugh, and afterwards, the old man put on a serious face.

"Go, Ryu. Ever since the council arrested you she's been worried." Ryu didn't even say a word. He left in a hurry. In a few minutes, she arrived, and saw Erza, sitting all alone. He let out a sigh, and approached her, slowly. He sneaked up on her back, and startled her.

"BOO!" Erza was scared a little, but not so much. Instead, Ryu got bonked in the head for his action.

"Ow! That hurt!" said Ryu, as he put his hands on his head.

"That's what you get for trying to startle me." replied Erza, her hand still smoking.

"But you were scared for a moment there." said Ryu.

"That's not true." replied Erza.

"You don't need to lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"Pfft. Whatever." and afterwards, a few seconds of silence were lived. Suddenly, Ryu broke that silence.

"By the way... I'm sorry for making you worry."

"It's okay. You didn't tell me what happened there. How come they let you go?" asked Erza.

"Well, you see..." and so, Ryu started explaining the magic council's so-called 'setup'.

_To Be Continued..._


	6. Chapter 6: Phantom Lord

_**Chapter 6: Phantom Lord**_

**(Before you start reading this chapter, I would like to speak to you guys. First, I decided not to update that frequently, because of school and the fact that writing all these chapters is quite time-consuming. Second, I saw a noticeable lack of reviews. Come on guys, don't be shy! I need all those reviews and opinions so the future chapters will be better, and also for some motivation! Anyway, I am not going to stop you any more. Don't forget, R&R guys!)**

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As the day passed, Ryu was resting at the guild counter, eating chocolate. But suddenly, he stopped, surprising Mira.

"Is the chocolate bad?" asked Mira.

"No, not at all." responded Ryu. And suddenly, Natsu's voice was heard, as he asked Erza to fight him again.

"Not now Natsu. I'm tired." said Erza. But Natsu didn't listen to her. Ryu looked at Natsu, who was rushing towards Erza with his hands engulfed in flames. But suddenly, Natsu was knocked out by Erza. The whole guild laughed at Natsu. Suddenly, Makarov felt uneasy, as Mirajane noticed.

"Is something the problem, master?" asked the young silver-haired girl.

"I feel a little sleepy..." was all Makarov said. Suddenly, everyone except Ryu and Makarov fell asleep.

"He's here again, isn't he?" asked Ryu from Makarov. The guild master just nodded. And in a few seconds, Mystogan entered. He went straight for another mission, showing it to Makarov.

"I'll take this one." said Mystogan, as Makarov allowed him to accept the mission. Mystogan turned around and started to leave.

"Don't forget about the spell." added Ryu, sipping his beer. As Mystogan slowly walked outisde, he started murmuring.

"5...4...3...2...1." and as soon as Mystogan spelled out the last number, the guild members started waking up. They were all confused.

"Before you ask, it was Mystogan." explained Ryu, and then, everyone understood what happened. Lucy was somewhat confused, but Loki explained everything to him.

"That's why the only ones who saw Mystgun's face are Ryu and Makarov." said Gray towards Lucy. Suddenly, a voice was heard from the second floor of the guild.

"That's not true... I saw his face too." it was Laxus, with a cigar smoking in his mouth. Natsu, who was asleep, woke up in a second. Everyone else was surprised at Laxus being present.

"Laxus! Fight me!" shouted Natsu towards the blond.

"Stop it, Natsu. Erza already beat you." Ryu warned the pink-haired boy.

"Listen to him, Natsu! You couldn't even defeat Erza! What makes you think you can beat me?" asked Laxus, with a taunting voice. Erza looked quite mad at Laxus, since the blond mage was underestimating her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Erza asked.

Natsu was already heading towards Laxus, only to be punched in the gut by Ryu. Natsu fell on the ground.

"Ha ha! That was good, Ryu!" shouted out Laxus clapping his hands. Ryu got hold of Natsu's scarf, and put him on a chair. Afterwards, Laxus announced.

"I'll never give my position to anyone! Not Mystogan, not Erza, not even Ryu!" but Ryu commented back.

"We get it, Laxus." Ryu's face turned serious for a second. Laxus just laughed, and disappeared. A few minutes later, Lucy sat down next to Ryu, and started discussing about what happened with Mirajane about the second floor.

"Why didn't you let Natsu on the second floor?" asked Lucy from Ryu.

"For two reasons. First, he is not allowed to take a step on the second floor. Only S-class mages are allowed. Second, Laxus would probably obliterate him." explained Ryu, with the keg of beer in his hand.

"S-class mages?" Lucy didn't know about them, yet.

"Yep. Each year, the master holds an exam for five chosen mages of the guild to prove themselves. If they pass the tests, they become S-class mages. S-class ones are recognized to be the strongest ones. Not only that, but they have a separate roster of missions available for them. Those missions are really rewarding, anywhere from one million to as much as you can possibly imagine. But any mistake, you're dead." those last words scared Lucy, but then Ryu smiled, and continued.

"But don't worry, if you're an S-class mage, those missions are a piece of cake!" said Ryu, as he patted Lucy on the back. Lucy let out a sigh, but then she had a smile on her face too. Ryu turned back to his beer, taking a sip, then thinking.

"_Man, I almost scared the devil out of her._" Ryu then proceeded drinking all the beer, put the keg down, and stood up. Afterwards, he left for home. In a few minutes, he got home, and jumped on his bed. The night passed, as the sun reappeared in the sky. Ryu got up, got some clean clothes on him, and went towards the guild. As he went towards the counter, he noticed something unusual. Mirajane wasn't there. Instead, Ryu saw her coming back, from the second floor, with a look on her face that was not seen for years. Since Makarov was close to Ryu, the boy didn't hesitate to ask.

"What happened gramps?" Makarov sighed, and explained to Ryu.

"A mission from the second floor is missing, and guess who took it."

"Natsu." added Ryu. Makarov just nodded. Ryu then asked.

"Wasn't Laxus up there? Why didn't he stop them? Even through Natsu is strong, he could die, after all it is an S-class mission..."

"Don't worry, Erza is already on the way to bring them back." added Makarov, with a calm voice. But Ryu stood up from the chair, and went towards the second door.

"Ryu, what are you doing?" asked Makarov, looking somewhat worried. Ryu had enough of Laxus' games.

"And what if Erza doesn't get there in time?" was the question Ryu put up. He went towards the second floor, where Laxus was slacking. Ryu quickly walked towards the blond, engulfing his hands in the dark flames, and rushing towards Laxus. Suddenly, a large explosion busted from the second floor, as Laxus fell down on the floor. Ryu was still on the second floor, with his hands in flames, and his expression was dark, and scary. Laxus stood up, and threw the coat on his back down. The blond took a fighting position, and he laughed, pissing Ryu of more. Ryu jumped down towards him, swinging a punch which Laxus dodged. Then, Laxus got hold of Ryu's shirt and threw him right out the door. Ryu quickly jumped back on his feet, and saw Laxus approaching him, with a grin on his face, and lightning struck his hands.

"Yes, yes! I was waiting for this moment! Come on, show me what you got!" Laxus said. He sounded like a maniac.

"Don't you care about the lives of your friends? If Erza doesn't get to him soon enough, they may die!" shouted Ryu.

"Like I care! If they are so weak they deserve to die!" Laxus retorted, with another laugh. Soon enough, the two fighters rushed at each other. Their knuckles connected, bringing up another large explosion. As the smoke disappeared, the two were revealed to be in a power struggle, like two sumo fighters. They were even, as they were pushing themselves to the maximum of their power. Suddenly, a very large hand cut right between them, causing Ryu and Laxus to dodge the hand, as they separated. The large hand revealed to be Makarov's.

"You two will immediately stop this." said Makarov. Laxus let out another laugh, as he went back inside for his coat, and suddenly disappeared. Ryu ceased the fire engulfing his hands, and bowed down in front of Makarov.

"I'm sorry, gramps. I promise you this will never happen again." Makarov returned his hand to his original size, and patted Ryu's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ryu. It's not your fault. We all are worried about Natsu, Lucy, and Gray, but they will surely manage somehow. For now, let's just wait for Erza to bring them back." said Makarov, as he noticed Ryu's anger towards Laxus. Then, Ryu stood up, and took a very heavy breath.

"Alright. I'm calm now." soon, Ryu and Makarov went back inside, only for Ryu to notice the second floor was barely harmed.

"Well, at least the second floor is still intact." added Ryu, as it made Makarov chuckle a little.

"I'm proud of you, Ryu. Your power is so destructive, yet you didn't damage anything. You truly learned to control your power over the years." said the old man. Ryu didn't respond with anything. Instead, he went towards the counter, as Mirajane surprisingly handed the boy a bar of chocolate, which made Ryu's eyes shine comically.

"Thanks, Mira." said Ryu, soon eating up. The whole day, Ryu still felt a little anger inside of him, but he could control it. It was already night, and he was alone with Mira, who packed up her things.

"Ryu, it's late already. I think you should go home." said Mira, with a somewhat sad expression on her face.

"Don't worry Mira. Just give me keys, I'll lock the doors." said Ryu, as he turned around towards Mirajane, who was at the door. The girl threw Ryu the keys, and she left without a word. Ryu was still sitting in the guild, all alone. A few minutes passed, and as Ryu just sipped his keg of beer, a huge pillar of iron tore through the guild's side. Ryu reacted fast, and punched the bar of iron right back outside. Afterwards, he jumped out of the hole created by the iron, and saw a man, with black and long hair, as his arm just changed from that big chunk of iron back to normal. Ryu quickly recognized the man.

"Gajeel Redfox... what's your business here?" Ryu was indeed, right. The man who punched through the guild was Gajeel, a member of a guild called 'Phantom Lord'. As Gajeel returned to the shadows, he let out a weird laugh.

"Gee Hee..." Ryu used his flame to brighten up the place, and suddenly, another bar of iron went through the guild. Ryu threw a fireball towards the iron, but Gajeel dodged it.

"Dammit..." murmured Ryu to himself. Suddenly, his reflexed kicked in, and as soon as another pillar went straight through the guild, Ryu rushed towards Gajeel, punching him right in his cheek, sending him fly towards the trees. Ryu was still on his guard, but after a few seconds, Gajeel disappeared, as Ryu couldn't smell him anymore.

"Damn bastard." said Ryu to himself. Afterwards, he turned towards the guild, noticing the two big chunks of iron tearing right through the guild.

"Well, I won't sleep well tonight..." and afterwards, Ryu proceeded to punching the pillars out without causing too much damage to the guild, and blocked the holes with some planks. After finishing, Ryu was too tired to go back to his house, so he threw himself on the ground, and fell asleep. In the morning, as Mirajane and Makarov first arrived at the guild, they immediately noticed the status of the building. They quickly ran inside, noticing Ryu on the ground. At first glance, they thought Ryu was beaten up. As Makarov started shaking Ryu, the boy woke up immediately, in shock.

"Whoa!... Oh, hey there gramps. Good morning." said Ryu. Makarov then questioned Ryu.

"What happened here?"

"I wasn't in the mood to go home, so I stayed at the guild for the night. But then, a member of Phantom Lord appeared, and started wrecking up the place. If it wasn't for me, this guild would probably be demolished right now." explained Ryu. Makarov was shocked after hearing Ryu's words.

"Ryu, are you sure it was a member of Phantom Lord?" asked Makarov.

"Of course. In fact, it was the dragon slayer known as Gajeel Redfox." responded Ryu, as he was still clearing out his eyes after waking up so suddenly. Mirajane looked all around the guild, as she noticed that most of the chairs and tables were broken, along with half of the counter.

"Oh my. Where are we going to go now?" asked Mirajane.

"I guess the basement is still a choice. I have no other ideas though." said Ryu. Mirajane and Makarov just nodded, as they agreed. In the following hour, Ryu moved all the intact chairs and tables to the basement.

"Whew! That was the last one!" Ryu just cleaned his forehead of all the sweat that was running down his head, because it took him an entire hour to finish his work. Soon afterwards, the guild members

"Gramps, what do we do now? We can't let them just get away with this just like that." said Ryu, as he walked over to Makarov.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do... guild wars are illegal." Makarov replied.

"I see... but we still can't let them get away." Ryu was still trying to find a way to get payback. He went over to one of the empty tables, and put his hands on it for support. He was thinking of something. Suddenly, Natsu appeared, with anger in his eyes, as he saw the guild noticeably damaged, as behind him Lucy, Gray, Erza and Happy were.

"Yo, what's up?" Makarov greeted Team Natsu with a keg of beer in his hand, calm as ever. Suddenly, the old man was rushed to by an angry Natsu.

"Gramps, this isn't time for happy hour!" Natsu shouted. Makarov's face turned serious.

"You're damn right it isn't... Your punishment." said Makarov in a serious tone. While Gray and Lucy were somewhat scared, Natsu still kept his angry attitude.

"Gramps, this isn't the time for that!" shouted Natsu back. But before he would know, Makarov was already handing out his 'punishment'. He chopped Natsu, Gray and Happy on the head, while spanking Lucy.

"Master, behave yourself!" said Mirajane, after seeing the old man's actions.

"Master, don't you understand the current situation?" Erza too, was angry, along with Natsu.

"Yeah, well don't worry. It could have been worse." said Makarov, as he let out a sigh, and took another sip from his beer.

"Could have been... worse?" asked Erza, as she didn't understand. But neither did anyone else.

"Ryu was sleeping at the guild, after he and Laxus had some... complications. Apparently, it was a member of Phantom Lord, according to Ryu." said Makarov, still keeping that serious tone.

"He and Laxus... you mean they fought?" asked Erza in an outrage. Makarov just nodded.

"Is Ryu alright?" Erza sounded worried as she asked. Mirajane walked over to Erza and pointed at Ryu, who was standing in front of a table. Erza let out a sight, as she looked to Ryu, and smiled. Meanwhile, Ryu was trying to find a way to take revenge for what happened. He ruffled through his hair, as he had no ideas. After a whole day, Ryu gave up, and decided to head home. As he left the guild, he heard a voice behind him.

"Ryu!" It was Erza, shouting to him from a distance. Ryu turned back, and walked over to Erza.

"What's up?" asked Ryu.

"Master decided for us to make a group for tonight, as there's a chance Phantom Lord might attack us." explained Erza.

"Okay..." Ryu still didn't understand. He was waiting for Erza to continue.

"Me, Natsu and Gray are going to sleep over at Lucy's. Do you want to come?" Erza proposed to Ryu. Ryu was thinking about it for a few seconds, but in the end, he came up with an answer.

"Okay, sure. Come on, let's go. I suppose you know where Lucy lives?" asked Ryu. Erza just nodded, and soon after, the two started their trip.

"Y'know, I'm glad you got Natsu and the others back in one piece." Ryu started a conversation between the two.

"They surely would have managed without me." replied Erza.

"Yeah, I guess. They are strong. It's just that I was a little worried about them." said Ryu, looking on the ground while walking.

"By the way... I heard about your fight with Laxus." as soon as he heard those words, Ryu's face popped back up.

"Tcch. He deserved that punch. Acting all tough won't get him anywhere. " Ryu said. Erza giggled.

"Huh?" Ryu didn't understand Erza's sudden giggle. Erza stopped soon afterwards.

"Are you sure you punched him because of that?" asked Erza.

"Huh? Of course!" replied Ryu. Erza just stared at Ryu, and after a few seconds, Ryu let out a sigh.

"Okay, alright. I did get itchy to fight him. I just couldn't control myself." replied Ryu. Erza then smiled at him.

"You see, that's better." added Erza.

"I guess." Ryu kept his reply simple. In the following minutes, Erza explained what happened at Galuna Island.

"WOW! You mean the moon?" Ryu was shocked after Erza finished.

"Exactly. But it turns out the whole island was covered by moon drip." Erza replied.

"Wow. That explains it." said Ryu.

"Maybe next time you can come too." added Erza.

"Let's hope that next time, Natsu comes with us, and not us with him. He almost got himself in quite some trouble. Good think that demon was already pretty much dead." said Ryu.

"Yeah, you're right." and in that second, they arrived at Lucy's house.

"Well, here we are." said Erza, as both she and Ryu took a good look at the house. Ryu stopped, and pointed at the door with his whole hand.

"Ladies first." he said. Erza opened the door, and went in.

"My, aren't you the ladies man." added Erza, with a smile on her face. Ryu just let out a small and short laugh. As Erza entered, with Ryu following, she noticed Natsu, Happy and Gray there. After Ryu entered, he noticed the three too, but he also noticed that Lucy wasn't there.

"Hey, Natsu, Happy, Gray, where's Lucy?"

"Well, you see..." explained Erza. After a few seconds, Erza stopped, and Ryu replied back.

"Oh, I see. I'm sure she'll understand." said Ryu with a calm tone.

"Don't be so sure." added Gray. Suddenly, the doors opened. It was Lucy, along with Plue. The blonde girl outraged after seeing not only Natsu and Happy, but his other friends too. Her eyes went wide, and her jaws dropped in a comical way. But before she could say anything, Erza calmed the girl down. Lucy understood, and even if she didn't like the idea, she accepted it. Meanwhile, Natsu's head was on the table as he was sitting on a chair, and Gray was already in bed. Suddenly, Erza spoke up.

"While I did agree to sleep with you two, there's a problem. Your hygiene." said Erza.

"But I'm already in bed."

"I don't want to take a bath." Gray and Natsu tried to find excuses, only to be approached by Erza.

"Then maybe we should take a bath together... like we did when we were kids." Natsu and Gray had shivers after hearing Erza. Lucy's jaws dropped again. Ryu almost choked on his chocolate, as he was sitting at the table. He banged his chest, and swallowed the chocolate. Erza noticed.

"Ryu, is there a problem?" asked Erza.

"N-no! Nothing at all!" Ryu could barely talk, as he still remembered the bath he took along with Erza.

"Then how about we take another bath? I can't reach my back, you know." replied Erza. Ryu's face was blushing hot red, as he tried to cover it.

"No, thanks! You go take a bath, I will go after you!" Ryu shouted back.

"No excuses!" Erza grabbed Ryu's shirt, and started dragging him to the bathroom. Lucy just watched with her still wide eyes and jaws on the ground. Natsu and Gray didn't even hear the dialogue between Ryu and Erza. Meanwhile, in the bathroom...

"Do I really have to take another bath with you?" Ryu tried finding an excuse. Suddenly, all the clothes from Erza disappeared, making Ryu's nose bleed with blood again.

"As I said, I cannot reach my back." explained Erza, as she walked in the bath tub.

"I can't believe I'm doing this again..." murmured Ryu to himself, slowly taking off his shirt.

"What was that?" asked Erza. As she looked over to Ryu, she started blushing at Ryu's body.

"N-n-nothing." replied Ryu.

"Alright. Well, come on." said Erza. Around ten minutes passed, as Ryu, Lucy and Erza finished their bath, Lucy started questioning Erza about Phantom.

"Currently, we're at the same strength. But our last face-off was a long time ago. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a face-off. We never fought seriously. We had a few small fights, but nothing serious at all." explained Erza.

"Hey, let's not forget about gramps. He isn't just small time." added Ryu. Erza just nodded. Ryu continued.

"After all, he's one of the ten wizard saints." Ryu then yawned, as he dropped on the floor.

"Whatever, I'm gonna take a sleep now." Lucy was surprised to see Ryu just throw himself down on the floor just like that.

"Uhh, Ryu, that's not a bed..." replied Lucy after watching Ryu suddenly fall on the floor.

"I know, just let me sleep..." and in a few seconds, Ryu was snoring. Since Natsu, Happy and Gray were already sleeping, the two girls decided to follow the boys. The night passed, and it was already morning. A large crowd was currently at Southern entrance's park. Ryu was already walking in the town, and after noticing the large crowd, he immediately ran to them. He went directly through the crowd, and soon enough, he noticed. Levy, Jet and Troy, hanging on a large tree, full of bruises. And on Levy's chest, there was a symbol Ryu kept his calm, and immediately took the three down from the tree, and put them firmly on the ground.

"Phantom Lord... no denying it." said Ryu to himself. Suddenly, his attention went over to Makarov, all dressed up with a white cape, and a stick in his hand. Behind him were Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Erza. Makarov, after seeing his wounded children, made him come to a quick decision. Ryu spoke up to him.

"I don't even need to tell you. You come or not, I'm going." Ryu's words were all determined, and even through he knew that a war between guilds is not allowed, he knew what he was going to do. But he wasn't going alone.

"Wrecking our bar is something I can bear with... but seeing the blood of my children..." Makarov stopped for a second, physically shaking. Suddenly, the stick in his hand broke.

"THIS MEANS WAR." Makarov finally decided. It was payback time. Ryu looked back at Levy, and he knew he wasn't going to show mercy.

_To Be Continued..._


	7. Chapter 7: One Man Guild

_**Chapter 7: One Man Guild**_

**Before you start reading, just a notice: R&R guys! It really helps and motivates!**

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Makarov's last words were more than enough to signal the attack on Phantom Lord. Every single guild member was armed and ready for battle. In a few minutes, Phantom Lord was caught by surprise. Every single member of Fairy Tail barged right through Phantom Lord's guild, and soon enough, a small war between the two guilds emerged. While the fight was erupting, Makarov went straight for Phantom Lord's master, Jose Porla. Meanwhile, Ryu found himself fighting against Gajeel Redfox. If anything, Ryu was not fighting seriously. Instead, he was searching for answers.

"Why did you attack the guild?" asked Ryu. He was calm, in a fighting pose, ready to continue his battle. But he got no answer. Gajeel just laughed.

"Then I'll have to beat the answer out of you, it seems." Ryu continued, still keeping his calm voice. Gajeel was challenged by these words, as he quickly turned his right hand into a metal sword, swinging it at Ryu with full speed and power. Ryu dodged all of them with ease. After another instance of dodging Redfox's attack, Ryu engulfed his left hand in his signature dark colored fire, and punched Gajeel in the stomach. The dragon slayer fell on his knees, releasing a small growl. But just as Gajeel stood back up, Makarov fell from the second floor, right between Ryu and Gajeel. Ryu quickly ran up to Makarov, noticing that his magical power was quickly decreasing. Funny thing was, an idea ran quickly through Ryu's mind. His guild was almost shattered, so he thought of doing the same to Phantom Lord. He quickly grabbed Makarov, and let out a shout, alerting the other members of the guild.

"We're retreating!" shouted Ryu. The other Fairy Tail members were surprised, at they were doing well. They didn't want to, but noticing Makarov's status, as he was in a critical state, in Ryu's hands. Suddenly, all the Fairy Tail members retreated, running off in defeat. Suddenly, Erza was stopped by Ryu. The dragon slayer quickly handed Makarov to the red-haired mage, as Ryu ran back to the guild, trying to get unnoticed.

"What are you-" Erza tried to ask questions, but Ryu didn't say anything. He just put one of his fingers on his lips, clearly a sign of Erza to stay quiet. Erza just looked back, holding Makarov, and continued her retreat. Meanwhile, Ryu used a bush for hiding, and what surprised him is that he saw the master of Phantom Lord, Jose, leaving the guild. But Ryu had some problems. He didn't know if he should follow Jose, or attack Phantom Lord. He scratched the back of his head, and finally came to a conclusion.

"I could probably go up against Jose... but it would be easier if I just deal with Phantom Lord first." murmured Ryu to himself. He decided to wait a few minutes, so Jose could put some distance between him and his guild. Around five minutes later, Ryu slowly tried to get closer to the guild, unnoticed. He heard some murmuring inside the guild, but Ryu decided to crash the party. He went close to the guild, and formed a solid fire-ball in his hand, which looked like a dark-red ball. He gently put it down next to the wall of the guild, took a big breath, relaxed his body, and went in the guild barging. He streched his arms out in the air, and let out a loud whistle. The attention turned to Ryu, but the only one who faced him was Gajeel.

"Gee hee... so you're back for more." Gajeel said, with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, exactly." replied Ryu, with a calm attitude. Gajeel started making way towards Ryu, throwing his comrades out of the way. Ryu was standing calmly. Gajeel stopped, facing Ryu, only a few feet between the two. Ryu then smirked, surprising Gajeel.

"What was that?" Gajeel questioned Ryu.

"Nothing! But how about we play a game?" asked back Ryu. Gajeel put on a surprised face, as he didn't understand what Ryu was talking about. Ryu just continued.

"You make the first move. If you hit me, nothing will happen. But if you do, something may just happen..." Ryu said, as a complete silence surrounded the guild. Gajeel quickly turned his hand into the sword he used to fight Ryu before, and rushed Ryu at extreme speeds. Ryu didn't even budge. As soon as Gajeel swinged his sword right at Ryu, the blade was stopped by Ryu's right hand. Gajeel was surprised at Ryu's power. Ryu got hold of Gajeel's sword with both his hands, and threw Gajeel right out the guild. As Ryu slowly approached Gajeel, the black haired mage stood up from the ground. As Ryu approached Gajeel, he looked at his hand, cut by Gajeel's sword.

"Not bad. You did hit me..." said Ryu as he looked at the palm of his hand. He threw his hand in the air, and as he closed it, an explosion erupted, taking Phantom Lord's guild with it. Gajeel was unfazed through, but to Ryu it didn't matter.

"Just thought I'd return the favor, and show off that I'm better than you while I'm at it." said Ryu, but it could be heard he wasn't serious.

"Tcch." was all that could come out of Gajeel's mouth. Soon after, he streched out his left arm towards Ryu, and in a flash, his hand turned into an iron club, extending towards Ryu. Before Ryu could react, the club went directly towards Ryu's stomach, and delivered a direct hit, sending Ryu fly. But before Gajeel could retract his arm, Ryu grabbed the club, and used it to get closer to Gajeel. While the club was getting smaller, as it was being retracted by Gajeel, Ryu let go of the club with one of his hands, still clinging on it with the other one. He engulfed his hand in flames, and even through Gajeel noticed Ryu heading towards him while hanging on to his hand, it was too late. Ryu quickly swung his hand towards Gajeel's face, but suddenly, it stopped. Ryu then streched out his fingers, and a second later, he released a blast of dark fire, engulfing Gajeel completely. As the barrage of fire stopped, Gajeel was swept away by the fire, ending up on the ground, quite a distance away from Ryu. He stood up, all bruised up. And to top it off, he looked really angry. Ryu was still playing around with Gajeel, as Gajeel's power was quite inferior to Ryu's. Suddenly, Ryu noticed something strange. A magic seal appearing at Gajeel's feet, and slowly, Gajeel's skin started to be covered in steel scales. Gajeel's power increased by a lot, as Ryu took on a serious face, and a fighting pose, showing determination to fight Gajeel at full power.

"Gee hee... this should be fun!" shouted Gajeel. Ryu was unfazed, awaiting Gajeel's next move. Suddenly, Gajeel was about to attack. He slowly gathered magical power in his mouth, and released it.

"**Iron Dragon's ROAR!**" shouted Gajeel, as an enormous tornado headed towards Ryu. But not only that, the tornado also combined with metal shards, which could cause serious physical damage. Ryu counter-attacked, by using his own roar. He too, stored magical energy in his mouth, and released it.

"**Chaos Dragon's ROAR!**" shouted Ryu, releasing a barrage of fire bigger than before. It was a lot bigger than Gajeel's, and Ryu's fire litteraly burned through Gajeel's one. Slowly, Ryu's attack got complete control over Gajeel's one, and after that, Ryu's attack hit Gajeel. As the attack connected, a large explosion emerged. Ryu shielded his eyes and mouth, as he was engulfed in the smoke. Suddenly, he heard someone sweep through the smoke. Of course it was Gajeel. Ryu quickly looked around, but he couldn't really smell Gajeel. Suddenly, he was approached by a fist accelerating right in front of him. He crouched down, and blindly punched in front of him. The effect of the punch cleared the smoke around him, as Ryu hit Gajeel in the stomach directly. Gajeel was thrown back a few feet by the punch, but still on his feet.. Gajeel was starting to get mad, as not even in his full power could he match Ryu. Again, he turned his left hand into a sword, fully swinging towards Ryu. But unfortunately, Ryu dodged all of the swings. Accidentally, Gajeel's sword hit the solid ground with a big force. While he tried to pull it out, Ryu quickly clapped his hands together, with fire around his hands, slowly storing power. After a few seconds, an enormous fireball formed in Ryu's hands. Gajeel noticed, but he was still trying to free his hand. The fireball in Ryu's hands became big enough so he had to hold it above his head. Suddenly, Gajeel felt the heat of the ball, and switched his attention over to Ryu, who was holding a huge ball of fire in his hands. Gajeel's eyes widened, and in a few seconds, the ball was slowly heading towards his direction.

"**Nova Blast!**" shouted Ryu, throwing the ball. As soon as Gajeel made contact with the fireball, another huge explosion took place. As the smoke slowly dissipated, Ryu was releaved standing, with his fists clenched. But on the other hand, Gajeel was down on the ground. He returned to his normal state, but he was uncosncious on the ground, with bruises all over his body. Suddenly, he heard some claps behind him. As Ryu looked back, his eyes widened a little, as he saw Jose Porla, slowly walking towards him. Suddenly, Jose stopped, along with his clapping.

"I have to admit, you're quite strong for a Fairy Tail brat. Destroying my guild, and defeating Gajeel is a very impressive feat." spoke Jose.

"I guess I can take that as a compliment." replied Ryu, followed by a fighting stance, getting ready.

"My, my! We're so hasty! You see, I was thinking about giving you a chance to join Phantom Lord, but it looks like you don't want to join. Shame through, I could have had my uses with someone like you." explained Jose.

"You're a pretty good mind reader." taunted Ryu, and if anything, he didn't sound like he wanted to talk serious with Jose. Suddenly, Ryu noticed Jose's eyes fading to black, and Jose's hat fell from his head, as he streched out his right arm aiming right towards Ryu. Ryu's instincts kicked in, and he was ready to battle. Suddenly, Jose took his hand back, charging a beam in his hand, and swinged it back towards Ryu. In the next moment, a huge dark beam went flying fast towards Ryu, but Ryu's reflexed saved him. He jumped above the blast, and to make sure he wouldn't lose momentum, two wings made of his fire appeared on his back. This surprised Jose. The next thing he saw was being punched by Ryu in the cheek, who used his wings to attack Jose at a fast speed. Jose fell on the ground, but soon after he got back up. He let out a growl.

"Grrr. I have had enough! You cocky boy, there's no way you'll defeat me! Not even Makarov could beat me!" Jose showed anger in those words, as he was somehow outmatched by Ryu, even if the fight just started.

"You should be happy that gramps isn't here to deal with you. By now, you would be done with." replied Ryu with a calm attitude. Afterwards, Jose's fingertips faced Ryu, and suddenly, Jose started firing dark magic at Ryu from each of his fingertips at amazing speeds, like they were bullets. Ryu shielded himself with his wings, and the small magic beams dissipated as they made contact with the wings made of fire. After a few seconds, Jose stopped. Ryu then suddenly went flying right towards Jose, trying to punch him again. But much to Ryu's dismay, Jose dodged Ryu's punch, and retorted back by firing another wave of dark magic towards Ryu at point blank, which sent Ryu flying right into a nearby forest. Ryu took down a few trees along with him, but after a few seconds, he returned right back, facing Jose again. He had a few scratches on his body, but other than that, he was ready for more. Suddenly, phantoms started to appear behind Jose.

"Huh? What are those?" asked Ryu, as it was the first time he saw this kind of magic.

"My fellow soldiers. They will teach you a lesson. Then, I can finally destroy Fairy Tail!" explained Jose. But those last words were enough to determine Ryu to defeat Jose.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to harm Fairy Tail anymore. It's bad enough gramps is in a bad state, and I vowed I will avenge him!" shouted Ryu back to Jose.

"Oh, really? And how do you plan to avenge that foolish old man?" asked Jose, while laughing like a maniac. Suddenly, Ryu took on a somewhat bored face, ready to attack.

"I was thinking about defeating you." replied back Ryu, calm as ever. This surprised Jose a little. How could a member of Fairy Tail hope to defeat a guild master, let alone a wizard saint? He was angered at Ryu's attitude, and sent his ghosts to deal with Ryu. Suddenly, Ryu faced a horde of enemies in front of him. Before the ghosts could do anything, Ryu stored an immense amount of magic in his mouth, and fired away.

"**Chaos Dragon's ROAR!**" shouted Ryu, as he sent an intense beam of dark fire towards Jose's ghosts, completely engulfing all of them. Not only that, Ryu's attack went right towards Jose, but the wizard saint deflected the attack just using his left hand. Right afterwards, Ryu flew towards Jose with an incredible speed, with his hands in fire, and because of his speed, he got a direct hit on Jose, punching him in the stomach. As Ryu jumped back a few feet, Jose fell on his knees, trying to recover from Ryu's hit.

"How... how the hell is it possible for someone like you to match me!? You cannot possible be that strong!" Jose was outraged.

"My determination is to protect Fairy Tail. I don't care how strong you are, but I will stop you." Ryu said with determination in his words. Afterwards, Jose stood back up, and continued the conversation.

"Ha ha! You crack me up, kid! You don't understand it, do you?" Jose asked after a laugh. Ryu didn't reply, as he wanted Jose to continue.

"This isn't about defeating Fairy Tail! This is about showing your foolish master which guild is the strongest! And I will do anything I can to prove that!" Jose shouted with an angry look on his face. Ryu was unfazed through. Instead, he was ready to end the fight. For one last attack, he threw his left arm up in the sky, streching his fingers out, and suddenly, a sword appeared in his palm. It was of a big size, with a black grip. The blade was of a big size, bigger than most swords. In fact, the blade looked more like a dragon's tooth. It was of yellow color, but the point of the sword was incredibly sharp. The cross-guard was also quite big, of a black color. Even through the size of the sword was big, Ryu held it in one hand. Jose was astonished by the sword, his eyes widened, and he was frozen in one place. Suddenly, the sword's blade started to catch on fire. As the sword was still high up in the air, being held by Ryu, the young dragon slayer slowly started to swing the sword down. Surprisingly, nothing happened. Jose unfroze, and after seeing nothing happening, he let out a laugh, but before he could talk, an immense explosion taking the form of a line, starting from Ryu's front, up to Jose's position took place, leaving a trail of fire and destruction behind. The attack hit Jose, and again, as a huge chunk of smoke emerged, Ryu's sword disappeared from his hand, the smoke slowly started to disappear. Ryu was anxiously awaiting to see Jose, and as soon as the smoke disappeared, Jose was revealed. But instead of critically wounded, he was petrified, in a frozen position, with his face showing fear. Ryu then made the wings on his back disappear, as he fell down on one of his knee.

"Whew... that took a lot out of me. But at least I defeated Phantom Lord..." murmured Ryu to himself. Suddenly, he heard a horde of footsteps approaching Ryu. Ryu looked at the direction of the sounds, only to see a small army of Rune Knights approaching him. Ryu let out a sigh, and with a smile on his face, he threw his hands in the air, as he knew he was arrested. Out of nothing, he was also surprised by something else.

"Wait a darn second... it's night already!?" shouted out Ryu, while a few Rune Knights approached him, armed with spears. During the night, the Rune Knights set up a few tents close to Fairy Tail's guild. It was already next day morning, and all Fairy Tail members were interrogated of the recent events with Phantom Lord. Ryu was kept in a tent for a full day, and he was unseen by any of his fellow friends, since he got a direct order not to leave the tent. Ryu was interrogated for full hours, as he explained what he did, and what were his motives. Right now, Ryu was sitting at a table, with a Rune Knight walking around that table.

"I see... so you're saying what you did was not an act of self defense, but more like... how did you say?" the Rune Knight asked.

"Payback." replied Ryu with a bored tone.

"Normally I wouldn't mind throwing you in a cell for such an act, but Phantom Lord wasn't exactly the nicest guild around here. We have also found out that Phantom Lord was hired to kidnap Lucy Heartfilia, a member of your guild." explained the knight. Ryu was somewhat surprised at that.

"Huh? Lucy? Weird... is she okay?" asked Ryu. The knight just nodded, achieving a sigh from Ryu.

"Whew, that's good." said Ryu. The knight then showed Ryu the way outside, and as Ryu got up from his chair, the knight put his hand on Ryu's shoulder.

"You are free to go. But let me ask you something. How did you manage to defeat Jose Porla, one of the ten wizard saints?" asked the knight. Ryu was surprised by that question. He quickly invented something.

"It was just a matter of luck." said Ryu sheepishly.

"Yeah, right. As if I'll believe that." added the rune knight. Ryu left the tent, and noticed all the other knights around him packing up the tents, leaving. He then took a turn, and noticed his guild. Without a second thought, he went for the guild. He went in slowly opening the door, and the first thing he noticed was Makarov at the counter, of course drinking beer. Ryu slowly went up to him, gathering the attention of every single member of the guild.

"Gramps... I see you're alright." said Ryu. Makarov just nodded, taking a sip from his keg full of beer afterwards. After taking that sip, tears started flooding down Makarov's face, surprising most members of the guild. Ryu's eyes went wide open in a comical way.

"Uhhhh... did I do something bad?" was all Ryu could say. He didn't know why Makarov was crying.

"You stupid brat!" shouted Makarov as his right arm became enormous and bonked Ryu in the head.

"Ow! That hurt! What's the big idea, gramps?" asked Ryu as he covered the spot where he was hit by Makarov. Every other member just laughed. Afterwards, Ryu was greeted by the other members, and Ryu was stormed by questions. But one question got a response.

"Tell me, Ryu. How did you defeat Jose?" asked Makarov.

"Huh? Oh, him? Well, I dunno, really. I just fought him. A few punches here, a few magic attacks there... and poof! He was beaten, and I was standing victorious!" said Ryu. Everyone else just sweat -dropped. Suddenly, someone barged in the door, as all the attention from Ryu turned away. It was Erza. Without saying anything, she went directly towards Ryu, grabbing his red shirt, and dragging him outside. After arriving at the front of the guild, Erza and Ryu were facing each other. The red-haired girl looked sad.

"Erza, I'm sorry-" Ryu tried to apologize, but all he got was a hard slap to the face. The sound of the slap echoed all across the place. Ryu then looked back at Erza, only to be scolded by her.

"You're stupid, you know that? You could have died there!" shouted Erza. Ryu was scared to even say anything. But afterwards, Erza let out a sigh, then smiled a little.

"But no matter what, I'm glad you're back unharmed." finished Erza.

"Not exactly. I was damaged quite a lot during my with Jose. And if we also add gramps' punch and your slap, I'd say I'm lucky to be alive." joked Ryu, earning a small laugh from Erza. Surprised, Makarov exited the guild, along with every single other member behind him. The guild was left empty. Ryu and Erza were shocked to see them.

"Gramps, what's up?" asked Ryu. Makarov, with his hands behind his back, replied.

"You told me that Phantom's member wanted to crash the guild. And even through he failed, I was thinking about renovating..."

"Okay..." Ryu still couldn't understand.

"So, we're going to renovate!" shouted Makarov, throwing his fist into the air. Ryu's jaws dropped.

"W-w-wait, WHAT?" shouted Ryu, still confused. Erza put her hand on Ryu's shoulder, attracting his attention.

"Someone has to destroy the guild, and I heard you did a good job with Phantom's." said Erza, Ryu finally getting a glimpse of what was happening.

"Wait, you want me to destroy Fairy Tail?" asked Ryu, a little outraged. Every other member just nodded, with Ryu sweat-dropping.

"Uhhh, okay... this feels awkward..." said Ryu, as he slowly went closer to the guild, with everyone else making distance between themselves and the guild. They watched from a distance, as Ryu, with a swift move, destroyed the guild. Ryu turned back facing his friends, and shouting.

"Done! So what happens now?" asked Ryu with a loud voice from his members at a distance. But he got no reply. Instead, they all pointed back towards the guild. Suddenly, the guild's shadow enveloped Ryu, and as Ryu turned back, he noticed the entire guild, falling on him.

"This is going to hurt." said Ryu to himself, as the entire guild's rubble fell right over him. Makarov, along with his children laughed, as they slowly approached the rubble to save Ryu, and as a family, start rebuilding their guild.

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
